Never Gonna Dance Again
by ReiraX
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha, an 18 year old entrepreneur, finds his life turned upside down as his plane crashes during a business trip. He finds himself playing hero as he risks his life to save a mysterious stranger who is trapped. Having not any interest in life or people in general, Sasuke finds himself acting out of character. What was so different about this stranger? Sasunaru, Narusasu
1. May Day

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. It wont be Lemon, just a romantic fic. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER \- I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to ****Masashi Kishimoto.  
**

* * *

Chapter One – May Day

Sasuke opened his eyes to be met by complete destruction. There were screams and the smell of burning steel and aluminium followed by the strong smell of blood. Forcing himself to sit up he focused his eyes until he realised what was going on. That's right, the alarm, the screaming, the speed… the plane it… crashed. He stared at his bloody hands looking slightly shocked that he was still alive considering the wreckage around him.

"Excuse me sir?! Are you okay, are you hurt?!" a panicked paramedic appeared in front of him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "What's your name? Tell me if anything hurts".

His whole body was aching but he didn't seem to have had a lot of damage done to him.

"My name is Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha. I don't think anything is broken". He had a lot of scrapes and bumps to his face but nothing major seemed to be wrong with him.

"You are one of the lucky ones. Come with me so I can check you out". The paramedic helped Sasuke up from off the ground slowly. He whined in pain as he realised he might have done more damage than he thought. As he was guided towards an ambulance station Sasuke took in the sights around him. There was blood and destruction everywhere; bodies under blankets, police taping off areas and firemen still putting out fires from every part of the airplane which was scattered everywhere. How lucky he was to still be alive from all of this he kept thinking to himself.

The sun was blazing hot and he felt himself becoming extremely exhausted after only a few steps. As he slowed down, Sasuke stopped as something glistering caught the corner of his eye in the distance. The firemen had stopped putting out a fire on one of the wreckage areas as it was about to collapse and blow up. The police urged the paramedics to take action and get everyone further away from the wreckage. But something was shining at the bottom of the plane. Was that going to blow up? His body moved on its own taking a few steps closer, curious as to what was shining.

"Mr Uchiha, please don't get to close it's not safe", the paramedic urged Sasuke to come away from the plane.

Not taking any notice he took another few steps and tried to focus his eyes on the bottom of the plane. The firemen started to rush away from it as did the police. The paramedics working quickly to get the injured away from the site and Sasuke was about to follow when the plane started to tilt backwards. Then he saw. It was a man, trapped under the plane.

"Hey!" Sasuke tried to get the attention of one of the fire fighters but they were too busy being hysterical trying to clear everyone away. One of them tried shoving him backwards. "STOP! There's someone trapped over there you can't just leave!"

One of the fire fighters tried to calm Sasuke down but wasn't having much luck.

"I'm sorry sir we all need to evacuate the area, that plane is going to blow up".

"He might still be alive! Do your fucking job and get him out!"

Sasuke didn't know why he was being so passionate about the situation but something in his gut was telling him that the man was still alive and for some reason felt the need to save him.

"Call yourself a hero; get out of my way ill fucking go myself!" Sasuke shoved the fireman out of the way and ran towards the shining area. The sun was shining towards this man, his blonde hair reflecting beautifully mixed with patches of red.

Sasuke stopped as the plane started to break in half, falling slowly more on top of the man. _If I don't do something he's going to get crushed! This is crazy what the fuck am I doing?_ Before he knew it the top of the plane exploded breaking it in half.

"No!" Sasuke ran towards it as fast as he could. He could hear people shouting for him to come back but he just kept running. He finally reached the man. He looked more like… a boy. So young and so injured. His face was covered in blood. He put his hands out to touch him.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Sasuke put hand on his chest and his heart was still beating but barely breathing. _I knew it. He's still alive_. His legs were trapped under a piece of the airplane. He tried to budge it but it was holding up a big piece of it above the blonde. If he moved it, the whole thing would crush them both. Suddenly he heard a whimper beside him. The blonde had opened his eyes and tears were escaping from what he thought were the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Sasuke snapped out of it when he saw the man panicking.

"Hey it's okay, I'm going to get you out alright? Stop moving you'll hurt yourself more" Sasuke wiped his tears away trying to calm him down.

"I-it hurts… everything… it hurts..." the blonde cried out softly. Sasuke's heart was breaking and he wanted to do everything he could to help him.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, everything is alright", Sasuke smiled trying to ensure him.

Suddenly the top part of the plane broke off and crashed beside them spreading the fire. The blonde had closed his eyes in fear and his panicking intensified.

 _There's no time, I'm going to have to drag him out._ Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blonde, one supporting his waist and the other his head. The blonde was hyperventilating and causing more pain to himself. "Listen I need you to calm down for me okay? I promise you I'll get you out you just have to trust me okay?"

The blonde listened to the raven and for some reason felt calm listening to his voice. He nodded and his body relaxed in his arms, despite the tremendous pain he was in.

"Just hold on tight to me alright? I'm going to pull you out. This is probably going to hurt a bit so be strong, can you do that for me?"

The blonde smiled at him nodding his head. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke and closed his eyes. Sasuke counted to 3 and then pulled the man out from under the plane. He held on to the blonde tight as he ran as fast has he could, hoping he hadn't hurt him too much. As he ran, the paramedics were running towards him alongside a fire fighter. Sasuke fell to his knees unable to run anymore, still holding onto the blonde, when he felt arms catch him and someone taking the man from his grasp.

"Please… Help him…" Sasuke cried out. He had no idea where he got his strength from, the adrenaline was wearing off and he felt like he was losing consciousness. He also had no idea why he had done something so reckless in the first place. It wasn't like him at all. He hated people, with a passion.

Suddenly the last part of the plane collapsed and went up in flames. And parts of the plane were crashing closer and closer towards them.

He turned around to see bright orange flames, and then black.

To be continued


	2. Aftermath

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

* * *

 _Suddenly the last part of the plane collapsed and went up in flames. And parts of the plane were crashing closer and closer towards them._

 _He turned around to see bright orange flames, and then black._

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Aftermath**

11:45pm.

Sasuke opened his eyes and focused staring directly at a tiled ceiling. _Where am I?_ He scanned around the room and noticed he was in a hospital. _That's right… the crash…_ With his realisation he sat up quickly and tried to stand up. He hated hospitals ever since he found himself visiting them often as his mom _accidentally_ had frequent trips to them with his so called father. His whole body was aching, although he could hardly complain. A lot of people had lost their lives during that crash and Sasuke was one of the lucky ones.

He opened the door slowly and peered out. The corridor was empty with the faint sounds of voices coming from the end of it. Judging by the darkness of the place, it was quite late in the evening. He had no idea what hospital he was in. Come to think of it, he wasn't entirely sure whereabouts the plane had crashed. Sasuke usually sleeps during his long flights as he wasn't exactly fond of flying, and now he has good reason for that. His flight to Tokyo had already been delayed and nobody had really expected things to turn out like this.

Sasuke walked slowly down the hall until he came to a television set which had a news station playing. Without noticing the nurse sitting at the desk, he watched as the news was reporting the plane crash…

" _This afternoon flight 206 traveling from Toronto to Tokyo had unexpectedly crashed landed near its destination stop. It was reported that most of the passengers were pronounced dead with very few survivors. It is believed that the majority of survivors have been hospitalised at St. Luke's International Hospital here in Tokyo…"_

Well at least he knew which hospital he was at.

" _It is unconfirmed of what had caused the crash, but rumours are suggesting it was an attack and not an accident. Only one of the flights pilots survived the incident and is currently in critical condition and the only witness to confirm. Authorities are reporting in closely of his progress; more on this story tomorrow."_

Wasn't an accident? Was it a terrorist attack or… just a hijacking gone wrong? Sasuke wasn't sure of anything right now but something was still missing. _THE BLONDE!_

"Excuse me sir, you'll have to return to your room. We can't have patients wandering around this late" a nurse tried to direct Sasuke back to his room but Sasuke wasn't complying.

"Are all the survivors of the plane crash in this hospital?" Sasuke wanted to know if the man he tried to save had survived, although he wasn't entirely sure why he cared so much.

The nurse looked at him with concern. "The survivors are here yes, but…"

Sasuke started to look concerned himself, "But… what?"

"Most of the survivors that were brought in died in hospital. I believe only 7 are alive right now including you and most are in critical condition".

Sasuke looked down to the floor, then bringing his burned and bandaged hands to his face.

"Are you looking for someone in particular?" The nurse asked as she put her hand on his shoulder to console him.

"There's a man… or rather a young man who I tried to save back on the site. I have no idea who he was or why I tried to save him but…" Sasuke started to tear up as he felt a sudden heartache emerge.

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

Sasuke remembered everything of what he looked like. Amongst all of the blood that covered the young man's face and body, how could he forget that glittering bleach blonde hair and those of beautiful diamond eyes that sparkled through the tears like the ocean?

"By any chance, are any of the survivors blonde? With blue eyes?"

The nurse smiled and took Sasuke by the hand. She led him down the hall which passed his own room. Next door to that was another room which the nurse had quietly led him to. She opened the door wide enough for Sasuke to see inside.

"I'm not usually supposed to do this unless its close friends and family. But since there's no sign of anyone like that yet, a couple of minutes won't hurt. Is that him?"

In the hospital bed, lay a very still and bandaged young blonde. "So he's alive?"

"He's in a coma. We've done everything we could possibly do for him at this point. It's entirely up to him now".

"What are the chances he'll wake up?"

The nurse hesitated and Sasuke picked up on it. Taking that as a low possibility, he felt instantly saddened.

"All we can do is continue to stay positive. I'll keep you updated if you like" the nurse smiled, "So you're the man who was reckless enough to run towards that burning plane huh? Some will call you a hero".

"I'm… nothing of the sort" Sasuke said, not taking his eyes off the still blonde.

"Naruto wouldn't have a fighting chance if it wasn't for you pulling him out. Believe me, hero is a title you more than deserve".

"Naruto?"

"Yes. That's his name, according the his passport details".

The nurse led Sasuke out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"You should get some rest. Your injuries have healed a lot already and I can discharge you tomorrow if you rest properly".

Sasuke wasn't processing what the nurse was telling him. All he was thinking about was Naruto. What a nice name. It was nice having a name to put to his face.

"You said his family haven't arrived yet?"

"Well actually we haven't been able to contact anyone we have on records for him. In fact…" the nurse hesitated realising she would get into trouble for telling a complete stranger details of this blondes life, "never mind, I've probably already disclosed too much, come on. Let's get you back to bed".

Sasuke frowned and accepted that it was probably all the information he was going to get. He understood he was pushing too much to begin with but… he just couldn't help it.

The nurse helped him back into bed. "Don't worry too much okay? I'm sure he's going to be just fine". As she was walking away Sasuke tried to ask her for one more thing.

"Could you at least tell me how old he is?"

The nurse smiled and noted in her head that he was the same age as Sasuke. "How old are you Sasuke?" She smiled again before closing the door.

Sasuke smiled back at himself. "18 huh?"

To be continued.


	3. Boy with the Diamond Eyes

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER** **\- I am not an expert in above themes or hospital procedures so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Chapter 3 – Boy with the Diamond Eyes

Sasuke glanced at the closed blinds of the orange lit hospital room. The sun was coming up and he hadn't slept a wink. He couldn't help being worried sick for the blonde in the room next door. His mind was running a mile this morning.

 _Why am I feeling like this? As far as I was concerned I stopped caring about anyone and everyone the minute I left home 1 year ago. Why am I suddenly so worried about a complete stranger who I probably will never see again?_

As Sasuke continued to procrastinate in his mind a loud alarm sound was coming from outside of the room. The sounds of people hurrying and shouting were travelling through the corridor snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts. He walked towards his door and opened it slightly, peering out to see what all the commotion was. Doctors and nurses were hurrying into the room next door. Naruto's room. Sasuke's heart sank as he ran towards the room but was quickly stopped by a doctor.

"I'm sorry sir you cannot go in there, please step away"

"What's happening?! Is he waking up?"

"Are you family?"

"Um, not exactly…"

"Please stand back, sir".

The door closed behind him and the blinds closed on the window. There were sounds of a defibrillator which indicated Naruto had flat lined and maybe gone into cardiac arrest. Sasuke put his hand on the door wishing he could just go inside. He felt useless and still wasn't sure why he was feeling like this. He took a seat on one of the benches in the corridor. _Please be okay._

* * *

About 10 minutes later, the room had quietened down. Sasuke wasn't sure whether or not to take that as good news or bad. The door to the room opened and several doctors and nurses dispersed. The doctor who had spoken to Sasuke earlier noticed him and looked at him with concern as he approached him.

Sasuke stood acknowledging the doctor, hoping he was going to deliver some good news.

"What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't… its Sasuke. I was on the plane too."

"Ah, you're the one who saved this boy's life."

"Is he…" Sasuke stopped mid-sentence not entirely sure what he wanted to ask, nor if he wanted to hear it.

"He's stable, just a false alarm".

"What does that mean?"

"It just shows that he's fighting", the doctor smiled at him.

Sasuke didn't smile back. Somehow he wasn't feeling all that positive.

"Has Naruto's family turned up yet?"

The doctor looked at him confused. "Naruto doesn't have any family as far as we know. He's an orphan. We've tried to find anyone who is in connection to him, such as friends or a guardian but, he's the only one who hasn't had anyone contact the hospital looking for him.

For some reason Sasuke started to feel sorry for the blonde. How can someone so young not have anyone to worry about him?

"Can I go in and see him?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. He could probably use a friend right now."

The doctor led Sasuke into the room. He looked at the blonde just lying there. He looked so fragile and still. He sat by the blonde in the chair next to the bed. Suddenly he started thinking about his own situation. His family knew he was on that flight from Canada and he hadn't heard from any of them either. Not that he was surprised. He was the one who left home all guns blazing. Even so he would like to think that if there was a chance he was dead they would at least want to check.

Sasuke sighed. _There's no use getting upset about it now. I made my bed I might as well lie in it._

* * *

About an hour had passed and a nurse entered looking for Sasuke.

"Mr, Uchiha is it?"

Sasuke turned around at the formal use of his name. Nobody but his employees called him by that name.

"It's Sasuke, what is it?"

"There's a phone call for you, a man named Suigetsu? He says he's a friend of yours"

Suigetsu… he forgot that outside of all this commotion he actually had responsibilities in the real world. Suigetsu was his business partner and his only real friend in this world. He had completely forgotten about everything else as he was so wrapped up in the whole situation.

"Sasuke?"

"Oh… yeah sorry, I'll be right there".

Sasuke looked over to Naruto and smiled. He remembered how good of a friend Suigetsu was during the time when he had no one.

Sasuke walked over to the reception desk where the nurse handed him the phone.

"Suigetsu?"

" _Oh my god Sasuke what the fuck are you playing at?!"_

Good friend or not he seriously was too loud and obnoxious. Sasuke sighed, "I'm not playing at anything Suigetsu, you know just the usual crashing in a plane, playing doctors and nurses and all that."

" _You really are a sarcastic bastard aren't you. Don't you know how worried I was when I saw that news report? It's been impossible to contact the hospital let alone calm things down at work!"_

Sasuke smiled. It made him feel better knowing there was someone to worry about him.

"Thanks. Sorry I didn't call I was kind of preoccupied"

" _Nah I'm just glad you're not dead because you haven't even written your will yet!"_

"Bastard."

" _So when they letting you out? Are you hurt badly?"_

"No I didn't damage much. Just a few burns and a bad headache, I was quite lucky. I believe they're letting me go today maybe"

" _That's great! I'll come pick you up"_

"Actually about that…" As much as he hated hospitals, Sasuke didn't want Naruto to be left alone. He wasn't sure what kind of person Naruto was and if he would even want Sasuke, a complete stranger to be fussing about him. But one thing he did know is that he didn't want him waking up thinking no one cared about whether he lived or died.

" _Is everything alright Sasuke?"_

"I'm going to need a favour"

" _Sure what is it?"_

"Well I can't really drive with my injuries and I'm going to need to be able to come to and from the hospital. You see there's this man who was on the plane with me and he's in a coma… I just want to make sure he's okay before I get on with things".

" _Okay sure, I can do that. Just hit me up!"_

"Thanks, Suigetsu".

The nurse sitting at the reception smiled. She knew Naruto wasn't going to have any visitors anytime soon so it filled her with joy that this kind stranger cared enough to make sure he was okay.

* * *

4 weeks later

Hours after his phone call with Suigetsu, he was discharged from the hospital. Weeks had passed and Sasuke visited Naruto who was still in a coma, every day and evening during visiting hours whenever he could. The press had started to question Sasuke about the plane crash since the police were unable to arrest anyone over the incident since the pilot passed away and was unable to answer any of the unanswered questions. He hated being in the spotlight. His family were well known in Tokyo and Sasuke was always of interest since he was the rebellious Uchiha who disobeyed his elite family and went solo. Sasuke still hadn't heard from a single member of his family and he certainly wasn't going to be the one to call them. They must've seen the news by now that he was alive. What more did they need to know.

Naruto had shown no sign of coming around but Sasuke made sure that he didn't lose hope. He would come by every day and night and tell him about his day. Apparently people in coma's respond to sounds and talking, although he wasn't sure if he believed all of that. Besides, he would try anything. He just wished he knew more about him.

It was a Thursday night, November 29th and Sasuke had noticed it had started to snow outside. It never snows in November, especially not in these parts.

He had 30minutes of visiting time left and wondered what else he could talk about.

"It's starting to snow. I'm not sure if you're from here or have ever been to Tokyo but it rarely snows in November, not like this". Sasuke smiled. He seemed like the type who would like snow. "I wish you would wake up soon, I would hate for you to miss it…"

Without knowing it he started to cry, and hard. Over the weeks, even though Naruto hadn't been awake he felt a sort of bond to him. He knew that he wanted to be in his life when he woke up, there was no way he was going to let him be alone. He felt responsible for him and he didn't know why.

There was no stopping the tears. He felt as if he was losing a part of him that wasn't there in the first place and he couldn't make sense of it all. All he wanted was to see those eyes again. Those diamond eyes. He looked towards Naruto and his heart was breaking.

"Please… please wake up. I know you probably don't know it but I promise you that you won't wake up alone".

Sasuke reached out his hand and moved away a lock of blonde hair out of his face. He could barely see through his tears. He hadn't cried so much since the day he left home. In fact he hadn't cried at all.

After a few minutes the monitor started making a loud alarm sound. The doctor and nurses had rushed in response.

"What's going on?"

"I need you to just step back for me."

"Please, don't let him die!"

The heart monitor had displayed a flat line and the doctor couldn't find a heartbeat. He looked at Sasuke with a concerned look and then to the nurse.

Sasuke's heart sank. It can't be. He can't be dead

To be continued.


	4. From Toronto to Tokyo

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. It won't be Lemon, just a romantic fic. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER** **\- I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Chapter 4 – From Toronto to Tokyo

 _Summary – During this chapter we go back to the plane crash from Naruto's POV. It will cover everything he was feeling during the time from the crash to the ending of chapter 3 with Sasuke._

* * *

October 31st

Naruto stood at the gate waiting to board his plane. He stared at his one way ticket to Tokyo and started to tear up. This was it. He was finally free and this was going to be his fresh start. Goodbye Canada. He had recently turned 18 and decided that he no longer needed a _guardian_ to look after him. Not that he did much of that. No more hiding in his room and cowering under the blanket every time he heard footsteps outside of the room. No more being treat like trash and being told he was nothing. He would bring his business to Tokyo, where he belongs. Where his family were, even though they're dead, it was still home where ever their spirits lie.

Naruto had started a newspaper called _Wacky Weekly_ with his best friend Kiba. It had got pretty popular especially when they announced sales in Japan. Although about a month ago Kiba's family had moved to Tokyo because his father got a new job and even though they made a decent living off their little business, Kiba didn't want to be so far away from his family. Things got pretty lonely without him and on his 18th birthday it all got a lot worse. Naruto had saved up since the 10th of October until the 31st and planned to run away and follow his best friend and his natural roots back to Tokyo where he belongs. And he did just that. While his adopted siblings and his guardian were busy with Halloween celebrations, he packed his bags and disappeared.

The plane had been delayed because of an issue on one of the flights. He started to make up stories in his head that this was life telling him he couldn't leave. The waiting and the anxiety got a bit much for him so he started to have a panic attack whilst waiting in line.

 _What if he's noticed I've gone and followed me to the airport. God knows what he'll do to me when he catches me trying to flee the country. Is he watching me? Did he delay the plane? No that's stupid he's not some sort of mafia boss, he's just a sad pathetic man who adopts helpless children to fill his own pathetic loneliness. I deserve to get on this plane and never come back. I deserve happiness. Don't i? Mom… Dad… what should I do…_

"Excuse me sir, are you alright?" A man who was standing behind Naruto in line had noticed him struggling to breathe and panicking.

"Sir Do you need some help?" The man put his hand on Naruto's shoulder to try and calm him down and in reaction to the sudden contact he hit the man's hand quickly and fell back into the person standing in front of him. The man held his hands up apologetically noticing that he had startled Naruto.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hit you like that it's just…"

"Hey… it's alright, just please don't panic I'm not going to hurt you" The man smiled as he took a small step forward. "Everything is okay there's nothing to worry about".

"Yeah.. I'm sorry I guess I'm a little anxious.."

"First time flyer?"

"I've flew before… just not on my own". Naruto had started to relax through the conversation.

"Someone special in Tokyo?" The man smiled more which honestly started to creep him out.

"No… not really. Just, visiting I guess", Naruto laughed nervously as he didn't really want to have small talk with the stranger in the airline queue. "Anyways, thank you for calming me down, I think I'm alright now".

"Anytime! "

The line started to move and the gate had opened beginning to let the passengers onto the plane. He had no reason to panic. Everything was going to be okay once he got onto the plane. Just a little further. And he'll be 12 hours behind of his new life.

* * *

He was sitting in seat number 9 and was travelling business class. He decided he would splash out on his flight knowing it was the start of the rest of his life. Although this was probably the only time he was going to get to enjoy a luxury flight like this since he blew the majority of his savings on it. He took in his surroundings and there were a lot of men and women wearing business suits and all dressed smartly. He looked down at his own attire and snickered. He never had a smart dress sense, he was always so casual in his grey joggers, converse trainers and slogan t-shirts. Today's t-shirt was captioned _'One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, FLOOR."_ It isn't a party without Tequila! As Kiba always said.

In the seat next to him was a young man with black raven hair. He had earphones in and looked like he was sleeping already. Naruto always got bad anxiety when it came to having to sit next to strangers on public transport, but he thought to himself how lucky he was to be sitting next to someone so handsome. He blushed and laughed to himself.

"Jeeze I really need to get out more".

Naruto put in his headphones and put on his favourite playlist of songs. He loved music. Dancing to it to be more specific. But his guardian would never let him pursue it as apparently, " _Men aren't supposed to dance, it's a girls sport"._ What a crock of shit. He couldn't be more sexist or homophobic if he tried. Besides he didn't want to be dancer, he just liked it.

* * *

12 hours had passed and Naruto felt exhausted. They had arrived in Tokyo and it wasn't long until they had landed. He couldn't wait to check into his hotel and sleep in a comfy bed. He had forgotten what that was like. He was mesmerised at the raven next to him who managed to sleep through the entire flight. He hadn't even woken up to go to the bathroom. He had even moved his ear close to the sleeping man's face to check to see if he was still breathing. It seems someone doesn't like flying or he was incredibly exhausted.

 _I wonder what kind of business man he is. He looks like he works in finance. Or perhaps he is works in construction? Nah that's not it. Bet he has some fancy office with his name on it! Investment banking? Telecommunications? Perhaps he's a sales man. Bet he's the boss. Maybe he is a lawyer. He looks like he is smart. Yes that's it! Mr fancy raven lawyer._ Naruto laughed to himself.

The pilot came on the loud speaker and ensured the passengers that they will be landing soon and to prepare for it. Finally. He was looking forward to a hot shower and a good night sleep. He couldn't settle on the plane and he was a little anxious about being vulnerable around strangers. He was never always like this, he used to love being around people.

During the entire flight Naruto had noticed a man was constantly getting in and out of his seat to use the bathroom. It was the man who had spoken to him in the airport while they were in line. He seemed to have some sort of toilet issues or sickness or something judging by the amount of times he got up. He had heard him arguing with some of the flight attendants when he tried to wander the plane. It was all very strange. Naruto just put it down to him not being able to sit still on long flights. I mean, it is a 12 hour flight after all.

This time the man had been gone for a good half an hour. He wondered if he was okay. Then something terrible happened. It all happened so fast. One minute he was wondering what kind of toilet trouble his new friend was having and the next, the plane was travelling at excessive speed down through the air and sounds of alarms and screaming filled the air. _What's happening?_ He looked next to him where the raven had obviously woken up and was sitting still with his hands over his mouth. He was crying. Those eyes… are beautiful.

* * *

Black. Everything was black. His head hurt like a bitch and his legs felt numb. _What… what is happening. Am I dead?_

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

 _Who's there?_ He felt warmth on his chest. _Why can't I open my eyes…_

He felt something heavy moving on top of his legs. He opened his eyes and to his shock he saw destruction laying on top of him. _I'm… alive?_ He started crying as he noticed the raven lawyer kneeling in front of him. _Am I going to die?_ Naruto started panicking as he couldn't feel his legs.

"Hey it's okay, I'm going to get you out alright? Stop moving you'll hurt yourself more" The raven man was consoling Naruto and wiped away his tears. If it wasn't for all of this blood on his face he could swear he was blushing so much right now. Why was he risking his life like this? Why won't he just leave him to die under here. He was no one special. It's probably better this way anyways.

"I-it hurts… everything… it hurts..." he cried more and more as the pain in his entire body was getting worse. His head was the worst considering there was a plane on top of him.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, everything is alright", the man was trying to make him feel better. Naruto smiled. There was something special about this man and he felt instant warmth in his heart.

Suddenly the top part of the plane broke off and crashed beside them spreading the fire. Naruto had closed his eyes in fear and his panicking intensified. The raven had wrapped his arms around him supporting both his waist and his head. _What is he doing? If he doesn't get out of here he will be crushed too!_ Feeling guilty and more worried about the raven being hurt and he was trying to get words out to tell him to leave and save himself. But instead found him hyperventilating and crying in pain from the intense breathing.

"Listen I need you to calm down for me okay? I promise you I'll get you out you just have to trust me okay?" _He promised he'll get me out? But why? Why was he so intent in saving him. By what he can see there was a lot of people who could do with help who he could save a lot easier. Why did he care so much?_

He listened to the raven regardless and for some reason he felt calm listening to his voice. No wonder he is a lawyer, anyone could fall into the trap and be mesmerised by that voice. He nodded to the raven and relaxed in his arms, letting him take the lead.

"Just hold on tight to me alright? I'm going to pull you out. This is probably going to hurt a bit so be strong, can you do that for me?"

Naruto braced himself to be forced out of the tight space he was trapped in. He knew the moment the raven pulled him out the plane would crash down with him. But for some reason he trusted this man. It was a strange feeling. He rarely trusted people he knew never mind a complete stranger.

Naruto smiled at him nodding his head. He wrapped his arms around the raven and closed his eyes. He heard him counting to 3 and then he was pulled out from under the plane. He held tight as the man ran as fast has he could. As he ran, the paramedics were running towards him alongside a fire fighter. The raven had fell to his knees unable to run anymore, still holding onto Naruto, when a paramedic had pulled him out of his grasp.

He wanted to call out to them to help the raven before himself the man had cried out, "Please… Help him…" and Naruto looked at him with bright blue teary eyes. He was staring directly into his eyes then he was suddenly knocked out of his daze when the plane collapsed again and went up in flames. The parts were exploding and flying towards them and to the raven. He didn't have the strength to call out and tell him to run.

 _Please… stand up!_ He was shouting in his head but nothing was coming out. He saw bright orange flames, and then black.

* * *

St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo

 _Mom… dad… I'm sorry. I've tried to stay strong but I just couldn't. I'm sorry I disobeyed my guardian but I just couldn't take it anymore. The abuse, the chaos. It was just too much. I guess this is what I get though right? For trying to escape it all. I'm not sad that I'm gone. I just wish I could've left more of a mark on the world but instead people barely knew I existed. I hope I get to see you both real soon. Although I have no idea where I am. I met a man. He tried to save my life. Will you thank him for me? I wish I knew his name. He's a lawyer. Actually forget that… I kind of made that up. But you should've seen him. He was so brave, so cool. I bet you would've liked him mom. I wish I could've met him too. He was such a teme though. Risked his life to save someone like me. I hope he at least survived. I wish I could see him… I wish…_

Everything went black to white. _Is that… people I can hear? Where am I?_

Naruto was going into cardiac arrest. He fell into a coma not long after he was brought into hospital. The doctors had fired up the defibrillator and attempted to bring him back. After a few minutes they were successful and the flat line turned into a heartbeat once more. Although he fell straight back into a coma.

* * *

4 weeks later

 _I'm stuck. Is this hell? Is this what it's like to die? What am I supposed to do. I can hear a voice speaking to me. It's clear as day. A man? He's telling me about his day although I'm not entirely sure why. But he knows my name. What's this about snow? I love snow. It was always nice in Toronto. Where is this voice coming from? I can feel myself breathing but its stopping . The voice is getting faint. Am I finally passing over? Mom… dad… I'm sorry._

To be continued.


	5. A Lawyer and a Defibrillator

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. It won't be Lemon, just a romantic fic. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

" _Please, don't let him die!"_

 _The heart monitor had displayed a flat line and the doctor couldn't find a heartbeat. He looked at Sasuke with a concerned look and then to the nurse._

 _Sasuke's heart sank. It can't be. He can't be dead._

* * *

 _I'm stuck. Is this hell? Is this what it's like to die? What am I supposed to do. I can hear a voice speaking to me. It's clear as day. A man? He's telling me about his day although I'm not entirely sure why. But he knows my name. What's this about snow? I love snow. It was always nice in Toronto. Where is this voice coming from? I can feel myself breathing but its stopping . The voice is getting faint. Am I finally passing over? Mom… dad… I'm sorry._

* * *

Chapter 5 - A Lawyer and a Defibrillator Walked into a Bar

Present day, November 29th

"Why are you looking at me like that fucking do something! Now!"

"Please calm down Sasuke"

"Calm down? He's dying and you're just standing there!"

"We've done everything we can, I'm sorry".

"FUCK NO! TRY. AGAIN!" Sasuke ran over to the defibrillator and attempted to fire it up.

The doctor snatched it from his hands before he could do anything. "Stop! Don't do anything stupid Sasuke"

"I never knew lawyers could be so reckless".

Sasuke and both the nurse and the doctor turned to the unknown voice coming from the bed.

The doctor stared in awe. "Impossible".

There they were. Those diamond eyes. Looking directly at Sasuke. _Am I hallucinating? A moment ago he was…_

Naruto grabbed his head feeling tremendous pain.

The doctor snapped out of it and rushed towards him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His heart had stopped and he had prepared in his mind to pronounce him dead on November 29th 6:33pm. Extraordinary.

 _He's… those blue eyes. They're really there. He's awake… but how… how?_

Sasuke stayed frozen and paralyzed not able to move his body. The nurse walked over to him to make sure he was okay.

"Sasuke, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"

Sasuke started to laugh. He couldn't believe how stupid and reckless he was acting. He had nothing to worry about all along. This blonde was a fighter and he was living proof of it. _Living_. He was… living. He let go of a deep breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Smiled, and slowly walked towards Naruto standing at the end of the bed.

"Welcome back Naruto. You really gave us all a scare right now" The doctor exclaimed, still surprised at the fact he was awake.

"Yeah… sorry about that". Naruto's voice was husky and low, almost like he was whispering.

"Are you okay to answer some questions for me?"

Naruto nodded, while fidgeting with the edge of the blanket with nervousness flowing through his entire body. He felt uncomfortable, exposed and vulnerable. Something he didn't deal very well with an audience. He felt like shit, he was in pain everywhere.

"Could you tell me what date it is?" The doctor knew he wouldn't be able to answer it correctly since he's been in a 4 week coma, but he wanted to make sure he had his memory from before the crash.

Naruto wasn't sure how to answer. He knew the date he was travelling and after that his thoughts were floating and he was living in his subconscious. Time just didn't pass. Before he knew it he was awake in a hospital with the fancy lawyer having a fight with a defibrillator.

Naruto burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the image he had woken up to. He was sure he could make up a joke about this moment to put in his newspaper. _A lawyer and a defibrillator walked into a bar…_

Sasuke stood there mesmerised by the blonde. What was so funny about asking what the date was? Was he losing his mind?

The doctor smiled. What a breath of fresh air for someone who has been through hell and back. "Is something the matter?"

Naruto looked up and realised he had completely went off on his own tangent. "Oh… sorry no it's just, the lawyer over there made me laugh with his performance earlier". He smiled as he looked at Sasuke.

"Lawyer?" Sasuke wasn't sure who he was referring to but he was the only other one in the room besides the doctor and the nurse. And he certainly wasn't a lawyer. What was he talking about?

"Could you tell me what the date is please Naruto?"

"Um, October 31st?... I know it was a 12 hour flight so it had to be around 7pm when it…"

"That's good. You remember the date you boarded the flight"

"So was I out all night?"

Sasuke frowned. The blonde has no idea he's been out for the entire duration of November.

The doctor didn't correct him yet in fear it would make him panic. "Could you tell me your full name and age?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, I am 18 years young" He smiled at the doctor.

Sasuke smiled too at the _young_ comment. What a joker.

"You're doing great Naruto". The doctor pulled out a small torch. "Just look directly In front of you for me and try not to blink okay?"

Naruto fixed his eyes on Sasuke. Although he wasn't sure why he did that. Actually come to think of it, he had no idea why this lawyer was here in the first place. Regardless of the fact nothing made any sense, he felt sort of… happy that he was there. He was happy the raven had survived. He looked healthy and didn't have a single scratch on him. Go figure.

"Everything looks alright so far. Alright, do you have any family we can call?"

Naruto frowned. He had a family but one he certainly wouldn't be calling whether he was dead or not. "No. I'm an orphan. I don't have any family".

"Our records show you're in care with a guardian named, Kabuto? Is this information correct?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto. He could sense something was off because his beautiful smile had turned into a heart aching frown. He looked sort of… scared?

"Please. Don't call him, please!" Naruto started to cry and pleaded with the doctor to not contact his guardian.

Sasuke wanted to reach out and comfort him. Who was this Kabuto? And why he so afraid of him?

"Alright, please calm down Naruto. I won't contact anyone without your consent. You are 18 after all. I just thought you'd not want to be alone. It's okay"

Naruto wiped his tears and took a deep breath, "Thank you… I appreciate it".

"I think that's enough for today. How is your head?"

"It hurts a bit."

The doctor reassured Naruto and told him that he would be back with painkillers. The nurse walked over to Naruto and took the oxygen tubes from his face allowing him to breathe freely.

"There, that's better" she smiled at him. The nurse filled his water glass and left it on the bedside table. She passed Sasuke and put her hand on his shoulder. "You can stay here tonight if you like. I'm sure he'd appreciate the company". She left the room with the door slightly open, leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone.

Naruto sat there staring at the raven that hadn't moved from the bottom of his bed. Sasuke was about to say something when the doctor returned with a spare blanket, pillow and a couple of painkillers. He helped Naruto take the pain killers and set the blanket and pillow down on the armchair which sat next to the bed.

"I know it's not an ideal sleeping arrangement but, it's the best I can offer you right now" the doctor assured Sasuke.

Naruto blushed as he wasn't sure why he was asking Sasuke to spend the night. Why would he want to anyways?

"Um, thank you" Sasuke said, slightly flushed. The doctor smiled at them both and left the room.

Again, Naruto and Sasuke were left alone. Sasuke could see the blonde was feeling a little uncomfortable. He sat down on the chair beside him and tried to break the ice.

He held out his hand, "Sasuke Uchiha. Nice to meet you". He said smiling.

Naruto burst out laughing. He didn't know what was so funny about the lawyer formally introducing himself to him, but he made him laugh.

Sasuke again was lost and missed the part where it was funny. "Um… did I say something funny?"

"Maybe", Naruto said winking.

Sasuke smiled. How adorable. He never really observed Naruto's face much while he was in a coma. It kind of broke his heart to see him like that. But now, he was showing emotion. His facial features shining through. He had the most adorable smile and strange faint scars on his cheeks. Was that off the plane crash? He wasn't sure but he still looked adorable.

"Sorry… I get nervous around new people. Some people call me immature at times because I can be a bit inappropriate I guess…" Naruto continued as he laughed nervously, "Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you too, sir" he said smiling, grabbing Sasuke's still held out hand and shook it with great enthusiasm.

Naruto Uzumaki. The man he risked his life to save on a whim. Or was it just a whim? He never did work out why he decided to save him that day. He was going through a _fuck the world and everyone in it_ stage in his life that day of the crash. He thought that if it had been anyone else he would've just walked away and saved himself.

They sat there for what felt like a good 10 minutes just looking at each other trying to find out what to say.

Naruto turned towards the window where the blinds had been drawn. "Is it still snowing out? We are in Tokyo right? How bizarre!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. _How could he know that it was snowing? I never said anything about… hold on._ "Did you say, snowing?"

"Yeah! I heard it was snowing outside…"

"You mean you heard me tell you that?" Could Naruto have really been listening to all of his conversations to him whilst he was in a coma?

"I heard it in a dream… although I think it was a dream. Whilst I was sleeping, I heard someone talking to me. I didn't recognise the voice because it was whispering but, he seemed to know me. He knew my name anyways".

"Naruto…"

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a concerned look on his face and cocked his head to the side

 _So adorable… "_ Do you see that calendar on the wall over there?"

Naruto looked to where Sasuke was pointing to. There was a large calendar on the wall with the passed days crossed out with a big red X.

"Yeah, I see it".

"Can you read what the month says?"

 _What kind of a lawyer starts to act a therapist. He is so funny…_ Naruto squinted. His eye sight was never this bad. "Ummm, looks like November!"

"And the date?"

"The date?" He looked over again and saw that the entire month of November had been crossed out up until the 29th, "that can't be right…"

"It's the 29th of November" Sasuke said seriously.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and leaped forward out of the bed towards the calendar and fell straight to the floor. He wasn't aware that he couldn't walk.

 _What an idiot._

Sasuke shot up and ran towards Naruto and picked him up. "Dobe what are you doing?! You can't be jumping around like that in your condition!"

Sasuke knelt there holding Naruto up by his torso. Naruto looked into his eyes and there was a moment. Their faces were so close that their noses lightly touched one another. After a few seconds Naruto looked away blushing and laughing nervously.

"Sorry… I wasn't aware I couldn't walk".

"You're such an idiot" Sasuke said as he helped him get back into bed.

"You're one to talk, fighting with hospital equipment. What did the defibrillator ever do to you?!" Naruto said pouting.

He was so full of life. Sasuke couldn't believe the energy coming off this man. He couldn't help but laugh at his clumsiness.

Naruto continued to stare at the calendar.

"So if the crash happened on the 31st of October… how come it's the 29th of November?"

"You were in a 4 week coma"

"Is that so…" it all started to make sense to him now. The weird dream he was having. He was trapped in his subconscious.

 _A four week coma… that's crazy. I might not have even woken up… hold on a minute._

Naruto scooted over to the edge of the bed and put his face close to Sasuke's.

Sasuke blushed not knowing what he was doing. "Um… is something wrong?"

"So If I have been in hospital for a month, how come you are still here?"

Sasuke wasn't sure how to answer that. He had been asking himself that question ever since he was discharged from the hospital. He had taken time of work until he was sure Naruto was going to be okay.

Naruto noted the silence in Sasuke and sensed that he was feeling uncomfortable.

"You saved my life that day…"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto who was still 2 inches away from his face touching his.

"You saved my life and you didn't even know me… why?" Naruto smiled. He was grateful for him and everything he had done for him. Even if there wasn't a reason, he was glad.

"I… don't know. I saw you lying under that plane and I couldn't leave you… I just… couldn't leave you". Sasuke started to cry. Why was he crying so much lately?

Naruto held out his index finger and caught the tears running down his face. Sasuke grabbed his hand gently and held it on his face, smiling.

"Thank you." The blonde smiled through his appreciation. "Thank you for saving my life, teme".

"You're welcome, dobe".

They had pet names already. Both of them could feel a bond forming between them. And not one of them had a problem with it doing so.

Naruto laid back breaking the contact between them and easing the hot tension that was strangely building up in the room. "So, Sasuke Uchiha… Do you often save helpless blondes from burning planes?"

"Oh totally… it's a hobby of mine, although I wouldn't recommend it. It gets kind of messy". _My heart is beating so fast… I can't help it. I'm so attracted to this man. This is bad…_

Naruto laughed at his sarcasm. He really liked this man. He knew that ever since he saw him on the plane.

Sasuke saw that Naruto was holding his stomach in pain even though he was laughing. "Hey… you should get some rest".

"Can I ask why you are here?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto confused. Had he overstayed his welcome? He was worried that the blonde wouldn't want a stranger hanging around his hospital bed when he woke up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that!" the blonde scratched the back of his head laughing nervously. Sasuke replied with a laugh too. "I just meant… I mean like… you don't, know me ya know? I know you saved my life and all, but don't you have better things to do than hang around here with me?"

Sasuke didn't know how to respond to that but when he thought about it, he would rather be here looking after the blonde than dealing with the responsibilities he had outside of these four walls.

"I've been coming to visit you 2 times a day, every day since the day we got here" Sasuke sat up comfortably, he might as well be honest with him, "I was discharged the day after and you were showing no signs of waking up. The doctors told me that you were the only survivor who hadn't had a single person looking for you. At the time I felt bad and didn't want you to be alone, but the more I came, the more I… cared about you."

Naruto could feel tears falling down his face but he couldn't stop them. He… cared about him?

"But yeah. I couldn't leave without knowing you were alright. I guess… that's it really"

Naruto didn't know why but leaped towards Sasuke without thinking and hugged him, hard. He was squeezing so tight he could feel his stitches on his stomach pulling but he didn't care. All he knew is he wanted to hug this man and his body was just moving on its own.

Sasuke was startled… _W-what is he doing hugging me like that…_ Sasuke was blushing and unconsciously wrapped his arms around the blonde. _This feels… nice._ It had been a very long time since he had contact like this. He never experienced affection since he was a child.

Realising he probably made him uncomfortable, Naruto jumped back in panic and nervousness, "OH MY GOD IM.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.. I mean, I did but I'm sorry i…" the blonde was stumbling over his words, blushing like a rose. Sasuke leaned over and hugged him again.

"It's alright. I liked it".

Naruto laughed and hugged him back. _An affectionate Lawyer how cute._

"Thanks for staying, Sasuke"

Sasuke broke the hug and looked him directly in the eyes. Something was playing on his mind.

"By the way, Naruto…" the blonde cocked his head to the side and was pouting slightly, "why do you keep calling me a lawyer?"

Naruto grew a smile so big that made Sasuke blush. He burst out laughing uncontrollably. _Oh Sasuke._

To be continued.


	6. A Helping Hand

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. It won't be Lemon, just a romantic fic. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

" _By the way, Naruto…" the blonde cocked his head to the side and was pouting slightly, "why do you keep calling me a lawyer?"_

 _Naruto grew a smile so big that made Sasuke blush. He burst out laughing uncontrollably. Oh Sasuke._

* * *

Chapter 6 – A Helping Hand

19th December

It has been 3 weeks since the blonde had woken up from a coma. The doctors said he would be ready to go home anytime soon if he feels ready to. Naruto had lost a lot of control over his legs and was taking regular Physiotherapy sessions to help him regain his strength again. And now that he was walking fine, the only thing the doctors were worried about was his mental health. He had apparently been showing signs of depression when he was tested for post-traumatic stress disorder as he started to show signs, although it is still to be conformed whether this is from prior to the accident. The doctors were struggling as Naruto refused to talk about it.

It was late Monday evening and Sasuke had decided to spend the night. Naruto had spent the entire day sleeping and during the short times he was awake, the blonde seemed to have lost the energy to hold a conversation and dramatically lost his appetite. Sasuke had failed to be able to converse with him like he did when he first woke up.

The doctor and the nurse had come in for a check-up and asked Sasuke for a word.

"We can discharge Naruto in the morning, if he feels he is ready to go home", the doctor said confidently. But some concerns still lingered at the edge of his mind, "although his mental health state is a bit worrying"

Sasuke worried that would be the case. "What does that mean exactly?"

"Well when we examined him during his coma, he had a lot of scars which had already rested there prior to the accident"

"What kind of scars?"

"It looks like Self-harm" the doctor said worryingly.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He didn't really know Naruto that well and he hadn't really asked about his life or about anything really. He was just focusing on keeping him company while he recovered. He was sure he wouldn't want to talk to Sasuke about personal things if he wouldn't open up to a professional about it.

"We can still discharge him tomorrow. There's not much we can do if he refuses to accept help. Mental health is a lot more difficult to deal with compared to something like a broken leg. Although it might not be anything to worry about as they seem like they are very old scars. It could've been dealt with already. We were just concerned that past problems might arise again because of this trauma, so we just wanted to make you extra aware".

Sasuke nodded as the doctor left the room. He went and sat back down next to the bed and took a good look at Naruto. They were faint, but there were a good few scars on his arms. You could see them more clearly now that his recent wounds and scrapes had healed.

* * *

The next day

It was 6am and Sasuke hadn't slept a wink. Naruto didn't wake up once during the night and was still dead to the world. They were going to discharge him today. Sasuke came to realise that he might not even see the blonde again. He didn't even know where he was from, why he was travelling to Tokyo or where home was going to be when he leaves. He didn't like the thought of him being alone. He never spoke of friends and there certainly wasn't anyone who kept in regular contact with him otherwise they would of turned up to the hospital by now. It had been almost 2 months since the plane crash after all.

There was still an investigation going on regarding the reason for the crash. They had arrested a few people in regards to the case but they were later released due to lack of evidence. The media had stopped covering the story when the police seemed to have come to a dead end and ruled it to be an accident. Although the detective in charge of the case has kept the investigation open as he was determined to find more evidence. They had brought in Sasuke for questioning a few times and for some reason was trying to pursue more interviews with Naruto.

Sasuke had gone in search for the doctor who was discharging Naruto when he noticed the detective and a couple of police officers by the front desk. They seemed like they were requesting some sort of medical records. Sasuke kept his distance down the corridor but close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"We believe this man is in connection to the accident of flight 206 which unexpectedly crashed on the 31st of October"

Were they talking about Naruto? He was the only one from the incident left in care of the Hospital. The receptionist was a new girl who was working her first day and was taking a long time pulling up information on her computer.

"The only patient we have still in this hospital wing is a Naruto Uzumaki. He was in a coma for 4 weeks and apparently is being discharged today"

"This man is someone who was discharged the same week of the crash. We believe him to be in his late 30's and he was a passenger who was causing disruption during the flight. Could you get us a list of all of the survivors who were checked into this hospital that was also discharged and still alive?"

"Sure officers. Let me just go and get my supervisor. I do apologise for the slow response, it is my first day!" The girl laughed nervously, obviously not prepared for an intense first day on the job.

Sasuke thought to himself that maybe they were actually getting somewhere with the investigation. _I wonder if it was actually an attack and not an accident._

* * *

Sasuke returned to Naruto's room to find him awake and standing by the window.

"Good morning, Naruto", Sasuke said with a smile.

Naruto didn't say anything but returned the smile and continued to look out of the window.

"They're going to discharge you today, its good news".

"Already?"

"Well they obviously think you're ready. Don't you want finally go home?"

"Home…" Naruto's smile turned to a frown as he looked away from Sasuke.

"Is something wrong? Naruto?"

"No… it's just…" Naruto hesitated. He hadn't really thought out what he was going to do once he got out of the Hospital. The last thing he knew he was checking into a hotel after he landed in Tokyo. He was going to look for an apartment, rent a new office and restart his newspaper. Now that time has passed, it might be too late to restart his business after being off the radar for so long. He wasn't exactly in the mood to go house hunting and he certainly couldn't return to Toronto. Not after what he pulled. He did wonder if his guardian ever came looking for him. His face was all over the news so he probably knew where to find him. But he hadn't heard anything about a visitor or anyone sniffing around, so maybe he had finally let him go. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Was he really that unimportant that his scumbag guardian couldn't find a use for him anymore? Was it that easy to let him go all along?

Sasuke was smart in many ways. He could usually tell when someone is worried about something and it doesn't take him long to put 2 and 2 together. Judging by his response to the word home, did he actually have one? Sasuke was trying to work out what to say. He didn't want to pry too much into his business but he also didn't want him to feel like he has to be alone. Not anymore.

"I have a spare room in my apartment".

Naruto looked at Sasuke in disbelief. What was thinking? Naruto still couldn't understand why he was still hanging around. Sasuke hadn't even returned to work because of him. _Why is he putting his life on hold for someone like me? What does he get out of it?_

Sasuke didn't know if this was the right thing to do, but it did seem like he didn't have many options.

"Naruto… I'm not really aware of your current situation, or what you plan on doing. You also don't have to tell me anything. I just want you to know that you always have a place to stay with me, if you need it".

Naruto stood up from the windowsill and walked towards Sasuke.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I like you". That had to be the bluntest thing Sasuke has ever blurted out. What a way to scare a man off. He internally slapped himself for being so forward.

Naruto blushed. He… liked him? "You… wouldn't mind me staying with you?"

Sasuke smiled at the positive response from him. "Of course not! In fact I could do with the company to be honest".

Naruto smiled. Nobody has ever shown this much kindness to him in his entire life. He wished he had more he could do in return for it.

"I have a nice little place right next to the Izumi Gardens. Have you heard of it?"

"Not really… although it does sound rather nice" He smiled

"Then it's settled then!"

Naruto smiled. And then his smile turned into a frown when he realised he didn't really have any belongings. No clothes, no nothing. Everything he packed was of sentimental value too. He lost it all; Photographs of his parents, letters from Kiba… even his collection of Broadway show tunes which he most certainly did _not_ treasure more than his clothes... He had his mom's wedding ring in his suitcase which he managed to steal from his guardian after he tried to sell it. It was the only thing he had that belonged to her. Everything else Kabuto sold for money.

The doctor had entered the room, followed by the detective who was at the front desk earlier.

"Naruto, you remember Detective Kane right?"

"Uhh yeah sure, hello"

The detective asked Naruto if he was willing to do another interview. Although he wasn't sure why they were still bothering to ask him questions since he had already told him everything he needed to know regarding the crash.

"We have reason to believe you made contact with one of our suspects regarding the plane crash you were involved with on the 31st of October"

"Made contact with the suspect?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. They weren't seriously suggesting that Naruto had something to do with it.

"Would it be okay to set up another interview? It's just so we can go through all the new information and to make sure we don't miss anything"

Naruto was confused. He never spoke to anyone during the flight apart from the flight attendants when he ordered food or drink. The only person he took notice of was a sleeping raven in the seat beside him. But Sasuke didn't wake up at all so he couldn't exactly call that making contact.

"Can I ask who the suspect is?"

"I'm sorry we cannot disclose that information to you at this stage"

Sasuke stepped forward defensively. "So you are actually suggesting that Naruto is a suspect too?" He said angrily.

"Not necessarily sir, it's just standard procedure. We do this so we can eliminate _possible_ suspects, so we can focus on the facts".

Sasuke wasn't buying it. It's been 2 months. Why has it taken so long to have a new suspect?

"You don't have to do the interview today as we believe you are being discharged. We'll give you some breathing space to let you get yourself sorted", the detective handing him a card, "just give me a call when you're ready and we'll set it up, if that's alright?"

"Yeah… sure". Naruto took the card from the detective. He was still trying to figure out who he could've made contact with apart from airport staff and flight attendants.

When the detective left the room Sasuke went by to sit next to Naruto. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine. How about we get you ready to leave?" Sasuke looked over at the doctor who nodded.

* * *

Later that day

"Are you planning on flying back to Toronto Naruto?" the doctor asked worryingly.

"No… I don't think I'll be flying anywhere anytime soon. Not yet" Naruto laughed nervously.

"That's probably a good thing. I want you to come back next week for a check-up and again the week after. Just so I can make sure you are doing okay. If you have any problems feel free to make an appointment. What is the name of your local doctor back home?"

"Um… I'm actually not sure if I'm registered"

"Really?" The doctor was looking slightly concerned. For someone who was 18 years old usually have registered at a local doctor regardless if they've never needed to go, it seemed a bit odd. "That's alright, you may be registered but not even know it!" he said trying not to make him worry.

"Naruto is going to stay with me for a while, until he gets back on his feet" Sasuke said whilst smiling at Naruto.

"Well that's good to hear! In that case…" the doctor pulled out a card for a local doctor's office, "While you're staying in Tokyo you should look to register at this office, in case you need it. You shouldn't have any problems since you're a Japanese citizen".

Naruto is from Japan? Sasuke never thought he was from this country. He didn't look or speak like it.

"It saves you travelling to the hospital and will save you waiting for an appointment. They also offer great counselling services too. You went through something very traumatic Naruto, and there's no shame if you feel like you can't cope and just need someone to talk to".

"Thank you", Naruto smiled and took the card from the doctor.

* * *

Sasuke led Naruto out of the hospital. The cold winter air hit Naruto's face and it felt good. They walked through the car park where they reached Sasuke's car which to Naruto's joy, was a beaut.

"This is your car?" Naruto said running excitedly towards it.

"You like it?"

"I love it!" Naruto smiled.

Sasuke opened the passenger door for him, "after you."

"You're such a gentleman Teme" Naruto teased.

Sasuke just smiled and joined him in the car. Everything was changing so fast and he didn't mind in the slightest. Before that day of October 31st, Sasuke hated everything. He was so miserable and barely even cracked a smile. His staff in the office had even started a tally in the staff room of how many times they'd seen their boss smile. Of course once he saw it he went crazy and ripped it to pieces and threatened to fire every single one of them if they were to act in a childish manner again. From an outsider's point of view, they saw him as a cocky, arrogant self-centred trust fund tycoon who didn't need to work a day in his life. When in reality, he wasn't all that at all. He just had a difficult time of it and had no idea how to deal with it all. The part about him not needing to work a day in his life is probably true, but he wanted to actually earn his status as an Uchiha not be given it. That's why he set up his own business in the first place.

"Is your office near your apartment?" Naruto asked as they drove towards home.

"Yeah, it's not far. Although I've forgotten what it looks like since I've been away for so long", Sasuke laughed.

"Don't you have clients? How can you take so much time off?"

"Because I'm the boss", he winked at Naruto whilst saying that which made the blonde blush, hard. He wasn't entirely sure why he liked the sound of that.

"I see. Well, maybe you can get me a job Mr Boss man!" He teased.

Sasuke wondered what kind of work Naruto was in. Or if he even had a job. There was so much he wanted to know about him, and he wanted to know it all.

"Could we stop by a bank on the way? I should probably get a new bank card since I have no cash on me"

"What do you need cash for?"

"Um… you know… people like to eat in this world Sasuke! Plus, I need to pay my way if I'm going to be staying at your place for a while"

Sasuke's heart broke. He felt so bad knowing he was worrying about stuff like that already.

"Naruto, you don't have to worry about any of that alright? You don't have to give me any money for staying with me. I will cover everything you'll need until you get back on your feet".

"Sasuke… I can't accept that… it's too much…"

"Why not? Look, I'm good for it I promise".

"That's not the point Sasuke. I can't live off you when you barely know me. Plus I can support myself; I'm not a charity case". Naruto was starting to get defensive. He hated owing things to people which is why he always wanted to do things for himself. Usually when he got money off his guardian he had to _do things for him_ in return.

"I'm not treating you like a charity case. I just want to help. You can pay me back if you like?" Sasuke smiled at him, not knowing what kind of response he was going to get regarding that suggestion. "Will you please let me take care of you?"

Naruto didn't respond and just stared out the car window. Had Sasuke pushed too far? He was trying to see it from his point of view. He seemed like he was a very proud man and took hand-outs as more of an insult than a kind gesture. He just wished Naruto would be willing to let him help, at least until he felt better.

"I'm sorry if I'm pushing… it's just, I've never wanted to leave your side ever since I pulled you from underneath that plane. I just want you to be alright and not have to worry about anything just now. I don't expect anything in return. It's what um… friends do right?"

Naruto looked over at Sasuke who was focused on the road in front of him. He looked like he was about to cry. The blonde didn't know what to do; Sasuke had already done so much for him. Why couldn't he just put his pride a side and accept the helping hand?

"If you let me do that cooking then… I'll accept".

Sasuke laughed. He was finally warming up to him and it started to ease the tension.

"Sure. I'm a terrible cook anyways".

To be continued.


	7. Orange is the New Black

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **SEXUAL THEMES SUGGESTED**

* * *

 _Sasuke had already done so much for him. Why couldn't he just put his pride a side and accept the helping hand?_

" _If you let me do that cooking then… I'll accept"._

 _Sasuke laughed. He was finally warming up to him and it started to ease the tension._

" _Sure. I'm a terrible cook anyways"._

* * *

Chapter 7 – Orange is the New Black

It was late afternoon and it had started to get dark quite quickly. Sasuke had taken the quickest route to get into the city. It was always busy around the holidays. The streets were all lit up and there was a large Christmas tree in the centre of the market. The raven parked up into a parking lot.

"Is this it?" Naruto said as he admired the glittering lit streets.

"No, I wanted to stop by some stores and pick up a few things before they close, is that alright?"

Naruto nodded as he waited for Sasuke to exit the car first.

"Do you get nervous leaving your car in a public place like this? It really stands out compared to the rest!"

"I guess so, but there's not much I can really do now is there", He smiled at him.

They entered a shopping mall which wasn't too busy to Sasuke's surprise. It was full of enthusiastic shoppers all in a hurry. He never did understand the panic states people get in over buying gifts over the holidays. This is why he preferred to online shop rather than bother himself in crowds.

The amount of people which were surrounding them had started to bother Naruto.

The blonde had started to walk slower behind Sasuke feeling anxious by each step. It had been so long since he had seen so many people in one place. The last time he saw chaos like this was when the plane crashed. He found himself stood still trying to get his thoughts together. Flashbacks of the crash started to play over in a loop right in front of his eyes. The sounds of the crowds were muffled and everyone passing by was either in slow motion or fast forwarding. He could hear someone calling his name as he put both of his hands over his ears as the sounds of crashing and screaming filled his head. He scrunched his eyes closed hoping the images would just fade away.

Sasuke tried to snap him out of it. Was it too soon to bring him in public? The doctor had mentioned he would experience signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Was he having an anxiety attack? Sasuke put his hands on Naruto's trying to pull them away from his ears.

"Listen to me Naruto, it's going to be alright"

A few people had stopped to see what was happening as Naruto began to panic some more.

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die, please, stop!"

"It okay, you're not going to die, I'm here okay?" Sasuke cupped the bottom of the blondes chin and brought his face up to face his, "Look at me, it's just me. Forget about all these people around you and just focus on me okay?" he said as he wiped the tears from his flushed cheeks.

Naruto opened his eyes who met a smiling raven looking back at him.

"Sasuke?"

"That's right, everything is going to be alright", He brought him into a gentle hug not bothering about the eyes that were on him from the people surrounding him.

* * *

Around 10 minutes later Sasuke had sat Naruto down in a quiet place of the plaza.

"I'm sorry for making a scene like that… I have no idea what came over me".

"You don't need to apologise silly, these things happen!".

Naruto smiled at him and looked down towards the ground. He felt so weak and so pathetic. Like he didn't have any control over himself anymore.

Sasuke stood up and started to walk away. The blonde's eyes followed carefully behind him, literally. _That has to be the most perfect ass I've ever seen in my life"_.

"You coming?" Sasuke said laughing, not missing where the blonde had been laying his eyes.

"Uh, yeah yeah!" Naruto stood up quickly hoping he hadn't been caught out perving on his new friend.

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

Detective Kane gathered in the meeting room with his 5 colleagues.

"The man goes by the name of Kabuto Yakushi. That's the name which was on his passport on the database. He got through security with no issues but caused a lot of fuss during the flight"

He started to scroll through a presentation on the projection screen which displayed images of 3 grown men, and 5 younger children.

"When we searched up for this Mr Yakushi, the images and DNA didn't match the person who was carrying the passport. It turns out Kabuto is a well-respected man from Toronto who lives with 2 other men, Orochimaru and Tobi. He adopted 5 children and seems to live a very cautious life".

"What do you mean by cautious?"

"Well according to the police records, Kabuto has had several run-ins with the police regarding abuse, drugs and gang operations. But he was never prosecuted and he eventually attempted to sue the Canadian task force for false allegations. In fear of a media out raw of a lawsuit involving the Canadian police and a man who lives a well-respected life in some sense, a case was never opened".

"In other words, they had no evidence to prove what kind of man he was so they just dropped it?"

"It's a lot more complicated than _just dropping it_ when it comes to dealing with gangs. A lot of the time any evidence is quickly disposed of especially when they have friends on the inside, as well as witnesses who are more afraid of their own safety for them to actually come forward"

"So why was this man using Kabuto's identity to travel to Tokyo?"

"That's what we need to find out. There's a lot we don't know yet but the sooner we find this man and bring him in for questioning the better"

"How long until the hospital records come through?"

"Sometime today", the detective started pacing back and forth. "We also need to find out why he was talking to Naruto Uzumaki on the day of the flight. It might help us determine a motive which will help us gain more time and authority over questioning the man".

"Do you think they are in connection?"

The detective directed their focus back onto the presentation. "One of the children who Kabuto adopted is none other than Naruto Uzumaki", he said as he pointed up a very young photo of the blonde "I don't believe its coincidence, although Naruto is now 18 years of age and seems to be living independently".

The police colleagues were writing down all the information in their notebooks. They had all committed to an unsupported case which the Tokyo Police had got permission to freely still investigate from, but the rest of the force gave up after they ruled it an accident. But detective Kane didn't want to just give up. He wanted real justice for the people who lost their lives and to their families. He made a lot of promises and he not going to break them.

"The security footage shows this man talking to Naruto in the airline queue. Naruto looks like he was slightly uncomfortable for some reason and a small incident happens when they made contact. Nothing else happened but they seemed to have a small conversation. Naruto didn't seem to know this man despite his connection with Kabuto".

"Do we know what was said during this conversation?"

"No. We are yet to interview Naruto Uzumaki about this meeting".

* * *

Sasuke led Naruto around what looked like a very expensive clothing store. When Naruto walked past the clothes he kept taking a look at the price tags. He didn't understand why people needed to pay so much money for one single item of clothing. Sasuke finally stopped when they reached an area which hung some very nice winter jackets.

"What's your favourite colour?"

Naruto looked at him confused. "Why do you want to know something like that?" He laughed

"Just tell me".

"Um, orange!" He smiled the cheesiest grin he could plaster over his tan blushed face.

"Orange? How peculiar"

"What's wrong with orange? It's better than always wearing black like you!"

"I don't always wear black!" He said as he looked down at his slim black jeans and smokey coloured smart tucked in shirt. Naruto just laughed at his accurate observation. "Alright smarty pants, but I do own other colours I will have you know".

Sasuke pointed at a jacket which was black with dark orange lining. "What do you think of that?"

"It's nice. Are you asking me for fashion advice Mr Uchiha?" he asked in a mocking tone.

Sasuke laughed at the blonde. "Its cold outside, you can't be walking around in short sleeves like this during December, you'll freeze to death!" he said as he looked for what he guessed was Naruto's size.

"Actually I am very good when it comes to cold. Don't feel a thing" he said as he sneezed unexpectedly.

"Clearly".

Naruto just pouted and looked away.

"Here, try this one"

"W-what why?"

"Because I'm buying you it that's why"

"Sasuke I already told yo-"

Sasuke cut him off before he could finish, "I know, I know. You're not a charity case. Call it an early Christmas present. Like I said though, you can't be going out in this weather without a jacket".

"Fine", he said grabbing the jacket out of Sasuke's grasp forcefully. He tried it on, still pouting at the raven, and then proceeded to fold his arms.

"It looks good on you".

Naruto didn't say anything as he started to take off the jacket.

"Keep it on, I'll pay for it now".

They headed for the checkout to pay for the jacket Sasuke had kindly, but didn't really give the blonde a choice, bought for him.

"I only need to head to that convenient store and then we're good to go".

Naruto nodded following Sasuke through the dying out crowd. It was getting late and most of the shops had started to close.

* * *

They walked through the aisles of the store whilst Sasuke picked up some essentials such as milk, bread and the odd vegetable.

"What do you eat for breakfast?"

Naruto scratched his head. To be honest he didn't actually eat breakfast all that much because he had to earn his food back home. It wasn't as easy as just opening up the fridge and frying a few eggs. His priority was making sure his younger siblings had a good breakfast before school, anything he ate was just what was left. As much as he loved cooking and food, he rarely had the opportunity to enjoy it for himself.

"I'm not fussy really…" He answered eventually.

"Well you'll have to tell me what you like so that I can-"

"I JUST TOLD YOU I'M NOT FUSSED SASUKE", Naruto shouted loud enough for people in the next aisle to hear. He instantly regretted it. It wasn't the raven's fault that he had such a shitty time of it. He was only trying to help after all.

Sasuke saw that he was embarrassed by his own outburst and decided to just drop the subject.

"Come on, there's only one more thing I want". He said smiling over his shoulder for him to follow.

Naruto watched as Sasuke scaled his eyes through the newspaper rack. He seemed like he was having a difficult time choosing.

"This one has really funny stories in it. It's worth the extra money you pay for it compared to the rest" Naruto said as he pointed at a newspaper called The Daily Ramen. "It has different sections written by different journalists but they write about their own views and experiences. I find that I can relate to the majority of the things they write". He said handing Sasuke the paper.

"You like to read newspapers too?" Sasuke said with a shocked but flattering look on his face.

"Yeah, you could say that".

They waited in line to pay for the groceries and Sasuke continued the conversation.

"I usually buy a different one but they stopped publishing".

"Oh yeah? Did they go out of business or something?"

"I'm not sure. They just stopped printing their weekly prints. It's a shame though because it was really good". He said as he handed the cashier the money.

* * *

Naruto took one of the bags from Sasuke as they walked through the parking lot. Sasuke smiled at him in appreciation. As they got to the car Sasuke loaded the bags into the back seat.

"So, what was this newspaper called?"

"Wacky Weekly", he said laughing as he climbed into the car.

"No kidding."

Naruto always had an idea of who his typical readers were of his newspaper but he would never expect a lawyer like Sasuke to be interested in the trashy jokes, stupid pranks and stories he and Kiba would write about.

"So did you buy it every week?"

"You bet! You could say I'm their number 1 fan"

"Number 1 fan ey?" Naruto said with a blush on his face.

"Yeah, it's originally a Canadian paper but got popular online which caught the attention of more Japanese readers. I started reading it when someone was posting screenshots of the paper online and loved it. I was excited when a lot of stores in Tokyo started to sell their prints".

"Yeah there's nothing like having the paper in your hands compared to reading it off a computer screen huh"

"I agree", Sasuke said smiling at Naruto. Maybe they did have more things in common than he thought. He really was enjoying getting to know the blonde and every moment he loved more.

They pulled up to a fancy apartment complex. It was surrounded by Christmas lights and it was very quiet and peaceful. All you could hear was the sounds of the fountain and a couple of people chatting on the benches outside.

Sasuke was greeted by a doorman.

"Good evening Mr Uchiha" the doorman said as he bowed politely. Naruto had never seen a doorman who worked at an apartment building before. He imagined things like that only happened in movies or for celebrities and elite families. Or hotels for that matter.

"Jugo, this is my friend Naruto Uzumaki".

"Pleased to meet you Mr, Uzumaki". He bowed again respectfully before the blonde.

"Oh, uh it's nice to meet you too! But uh, please call me Naruto. Mr Uzumaki is way too formal!"

"My apologies Mr- uh, Naruto-san" it had been a long time since he heard someone talk like that. He was definitely back in Japan alright.

"Jugo, Naruto is going to be staying with me for a while so please take care of him if you see him around. Also give him access to my apartment if he doesn't have a key".

"Not a problem Mr Uchiha. Naruto-san". He bowed again and opened the door for them as they walked towards the elevator.

"What floor is it?"

"Take a guess"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Of course" he said sarcastically as he watched Sasuke press the penthouse button.

* * *

As the elevator chimed they walked towards the front door. Naruto was feeling a little nervous and he wasn't sure why. Sasuke had 2 next door neighbours as there seemed to be 2 other doors down the hall to the left and to the right.

Sasuke unlocked the door, "after you", he smiled. Naruto smiled back nervously and walked slowly inside. The apartment was very chic. And most of the furniture was black, not that the blonde was surprised. Everything looked so clean, modern and expensive. Quite the opposite to Naruto's taste. He was more into the bohemian style.

"Please make yourself at home, Naruto". The blonde took off his shoes, remembering his was in Japan, and walked towards the living area. It had two corner sofas which one was facing a fireplace and the other a widescreen television with a coffee table in the middle. Behind was a connected kitchen which had a breakfast bar/island in the middle with 4 bar stools facing a large balcony window. There was a hallway to the corner of the living space which led to the master and 2 guest bedrooms. There was also a staircase which led to a home office upstairs.

The blonde took a seat on the soft black fabric couch and sat formally on the edge. Sasuke watched as the blonde took in his surroundings, obviously feeling uncomfortable. He wasn't used to having house guests and was wondering what he could do to make the blonde feel more relaxed. The raven took a seat next to Naruto.

"I hope it's not too _black_ for you", Sasuke said trying to break the tension.

"It's a beautiful apartment Sasuke. Although you're right, it could do with more colours!"

They both laughed. "Yeah maybe you're right. Come with me". Sasuke led Naruto down the hallway towards the end. He opened the door to a large double room with an ensuite.

"This is your room. If you want to change it in anyway feel free".

The room was rather plain with white walls and a grey carpet. The bed was huge though, he'd never slept in one so large. The bed was nicely made up with plenty of pillows, a large thick winter quilt and a fluffy grey comforter folded up towards the edge of the bed.

Naruto was very grateful for putting him up. He wasn't sure what he would've done without Sasuke's kindness. He wasn't used to things going well for him.

Sasuke walked towards a built in wardrobe which had a mirrored sliding door. "Now I know you're probably going to hate me for this but, I stocked the closet with some of my clothes for you since I know you don't have any yet. There's not a lot of colour but I thought they would do until you got some of your own".

"Thanks Sasuke. It's really kind of you, you didn't have to do all this for me"

"Well I could've just let you wander around naked but what kind of host would I be then?" Sasuke laughed blushing immediately after realising what he just suggested. Naruto just laughed at Sasuke's remark which made the raven feel better knowing he hadn't just made him feel uncomfortable with his stupid joke. _Why am I acting like a love-sick teenager. Get yourself together Sasuke_ , the raven gathered his thoughts.

"There's also clean underwear and stuff and clean towels in the bathroom". He said putting his hands in his pockets.

"Got it." Naruto smiled.

They stood there in silence for a few seconds before Sasuke spoke up.

"Um, so are you hungry?"

Naruto just smiled and nodded.

* * *

None of the boys were in the mood to cook anything tonight so Sasuke suggested that they order something. Although Naruto was being very picky as to what they were going to order as it was _too much_ for Sasuke to order so much food. In the end the blonde gave in and let Sasuke order them 2 large pizzas, fries and some cake for dessert.

Sasuke got a call from Jugo downstairs letting him know that the delivery guy was on his way up. He paid the man at the door with a very generous tip and set the food down on the coffee table. Sasuke liked this. It was so long since he had any sort of company around his place. Come to think of it, he realised that the only person he has had in this apparently except for himself, was Suigetsu. And that was only because of the time Sasuke refused to turn up to work one day because he spent the entire weekend getting absolutely hammered on whiskey and vodka. It was during the time he had stopped talking to his family and cut all contact completely.

"Do you want anything to do drink, Naruto?"

"Uh, sure. What do you have" he said taking a slice of pizza first. Naruto felt a little more relaxed in the apartment and was starting to warm up to the idea of staying. Sasuke made him feel at ease and it was so comfortable to be around him. He had no idea how someone like Sasuke was single. Although… he wasn't exactly sure if he was dating anyone. He never really asked him. Naruto had looked around the room for any sort of photographs but there was none. Not even of family.

"Well you have the choice of, Coke, Lemonade or Orange Juice".

"Surprise me", Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke smiled, taking out the orange juice.

They sat in front of the TV with the fire going watching some trashy prank show which Naruto chose. They ate in comfortable silence for a while until they got to their dessert.

"I almost forgot what it was like to eat food like this". Naruto said out loud.

"In comparison to that delicious hospital food you got?" Sasuke joked. Naruto didn't give a response or a reaction. He just stared expressionless at the TV.

"Is everything alright Naruto?" the blonde didn't know how to react. He didn't mean to say it out loud. He was just thinking how long it had been since he had food that tasted this good. He didn't mean in the time he was in hospital, he was actually talking about the majority of his life. He never got good food at home, he wasn't allowed it unless he _earned it_. A memory flashed through his head and played through his thoughts.

* * *

*flashback*

" _Naruto. You're the oldest and you need to start earning your keep. You don't want your brothers and sisters to starve do you?"_

" _No father."_

" _You're 16 now. I can't be doing all the work around here."_

" _I don't understand why I can't just get a job though… why does it have to be like this?"_

 _Kabuto pushed the blonde against the wall by his neck. "What have I told you about talking back to me like that?! You're nothing but an orphan you'd have no one if it wasn't for me! Show some fucking gratitude"._

 _The blonde fell to the floor holding his throat._

" _If you like, I can get your oh so innocent brother Nagato to do it for-"_

" _No. Leave Nagato out of it, I told you whatever you want I'll be the one to take it just don't touch them… please"_

" _That's what I thought. Then get on your knees and earn your keep, blondie."_

" _Yes, father"._

* * *

Naruto didn't realise it but he had started to spill the glass of orange juice onto the carpet. Sasuke leaned over and took the glass from his hand.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" He said panicking. Naruto snapped out of it and realised what he had done.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to spill it on your carpet" the blonde shot up and ran towards the kitchen frantically looking for something to clean up the spill. Sasuke quickly followed.

"Hey it's okay, calm down. It's only a spill".

"I'll clean it up I promise, just please don't-" with that Naruto slid down against the kitchen counter to the floor and curled up.

"Don't what? I'm not going to do anything Naruto". Sasuke knelt down taking the towel which he picked up, out of Naruto's grasp. There was obviously more going on here than Sasuke had been led to believe. None of it made sense. He wasn't going through post dramatic stress disorder because of the plane crash, it ran much deeper than that. Sasuke noted that he had to be more careful with what he said around him. He had to earn the blondes trust and not just expect it.

Sasuke sat down beside Naruto on the kitchen floor and put his arm around the blonde. Naruto let out a deep breath and mumbled the word _sorry_. The raven reached his hand on the side of the blondes head and pulled it onto his shoulder.

"It's been a long day, how about we get some rest?" Naruto nodded and wiped away his tears, "Tomorrow will be a better day" the raven smiled at him helping him up off the floor.

Sasuke made sure Naruto got to bed alright and stayed in the room until the blonde fell asleep. He felt so useless and all he wanted to do was help him. He was going to do whatever it takes to make him feel better. He smiled as he draped over the grey comforter over the top of the thick quilt which was tucked into Naruto. He turned off the lamp and returned to his own room.

The raven lay on the top of his bed. He couldn't get Naruto out of his mind as he stared at the ceiling. Every time he was next to him, his heart raced and he got butterflies. He stumbled over his words and he acted like a teenager. He was the most beautiful man he had ever seen. His bleach blonde hair and his blue diamond eyes. He wanted to protect this man with his life. He wanted to hold him close. He wanted to just… to just kiss him.

He loved him. He might very well be in love with him. Couldn't he?

To be continued.


	8. Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **SEXUAL THEMES**

 **I know things started a bit slow in these previous chapters but I'm going to speed things up a little. I've started to develop Sasuke and Naruto's feelings, we get some insight on Naruto's family AND the 206 Plane Crash Investigation finally gets a leeway to move forward.**

* * *

 _He wanted to protect this man with his life. He wanted to hold him close. He wanted to just… to just kiss him._

 _He loved him. He might very well be in love with him. Couldn't he?_

* * *

Chapter 8 – Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

He stood by the gate just staring at the building. He had to do something, the police were starting to figure things out. He needed to get Naruto out of Japan before they interviewed him.

"If Naruto starts talking they're going to figure out who I am eventually". The mysterious man was talking to someone on the phone.

" _Just keep a close eye on him. I can't have the police sniffing around here, not whilst these major deals are going on. I need Naruto back here soon or they're going to get impatient"._

"I'll do my best sir but-"

" _NO BUTS! You're lucky you are still fucking alive after what you pulled. If my blonde had died in that crash you and your family would've suffered a much worse fate do you understand me?! All you had to do was stop him from getting on the flight and you couldn't even do that. Do you know how much I have riding on this?"_ The man on the phone started to get aggressive and pissed off, " _The club was expecting Naruto and I need my top performer back or they're going to get on MY back! So just consider yourself lucky I'm giving you this chance to redeem yourself!"_

"I understand sir". The line cut off and the man sighed. _Why did I get involved in this in the first place… this is definitely not worth the money._

* * *

21st December - 6am

Naruto had woken up pretty early. He stared at the alarm clock beside him which read 6:03am. At first he forgotten where he was as he rubbed his eyes and looked around the room.

 _That's right. I'm at Sasuke's._ Naruto wasn't sure what to do. Should he cook him breakfast? He wondered if Sasuke was up already. He seemed like the kind of man who would wake up early and be dressed by now. He laughed to himself. He really still didn't know much about the raven. He wanted that to change. Although he did wonder why Sasuke was the first thing he thought about when he woke up.

Naruto walked into the very shiny looking bathroom and started the shower. Sasuke had stocked it well with everything he could possibly need. Everything from the shampoo to the shower gel was centred with cherry. He started washing himself as he continued to think about Sasuke. Naruto hadn't been in any relationships but he wasn't short on crushes. Although if you count celebrities as a real crush. Other than that he showed little to no interest since his guardian wouldn't ever allow it. Especially when he came out as Gay. He was _his property_. Naruto had lost his virginity at the age of 18 when his guardian came home drunk one day. It was the most horrible experience of his life. And it only got worse from there.

He stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. Looking in the mirror he stared at his reflection. All he saw was the shell of someone covered in scars which each told its own story. Naruto closed his eyes.

 _I hope they're all okay. My brothers. My sisters. I hope they're taking care of each other. I'm sorry for leaving you… I hope you all understand why I had to get away… I hope one day you can be brave enough to do it too._

Naruto had many regrets. He feared the safety of his adopted siblings. They wouldn't be able to cope if his guardian treat them the way he was treated. At the time he took every beating, every harsh word, every single slice of abuse, just so they didn't have to. As long as he complied, his guardian promised to leave them out of it.

He stared at the faint scars on his wrist… He just wished for the pain to go away. He shook his head and hurried out of the bathroom. _I don't want to have these thoughts again... I thought they would disappear once I got out of there… I'm stupid to think that they would just fade away like these fucking scars._

There was a knock at the bedroom door. Naruto unconsciously said _come in_ as he was still deep in thought sitting on the edge of the bed.

Sasuke entered but didn't walk any further as he stood there in complete awe. He blushed so hard whilst all of the blood rushed to his head.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"

After some delay Sasuke quickly turned around. "Oh my god, I'm sorry I didn't realise you were getting dressed".

Naruto looked at Sasuke confused and then down at himself. There he was, sitting clear as day, in the nude. Naruto jumped up quickly shrieking like a school girl and grabbed the towel covering himself feeling extremely embarrassed. It was so warm in his room he totally forgot he wasn't wearing any clothes.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto laughed nervously, "I… didn't realise"

"It's alright", Sasuke said still turned away from Naruto.

"Sasuke…"

"Yes?"

"I want to tell you everything". Naruto said whilst putting on a pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"Everything?" Sasuke asked.

"Everything about me… I've put you through so much and I've not even been here a full 24 hours yet".

"Naruto you don't owe me anything".

"I know but… I want to". Naruto smiled realising that he was having a conversation with Sasuke's back. He laughed at the Lawyer being all embarrassed about seeing a naked man in his guest room.

"You can turn around now, Sasuke" he said still laughing.

"Right. Sorry" the raven said scratching the back of his head.

"Can I cook you breakfast to make up for it?" The blonde smiled walking towards Sasuke.

"Sounds good", the raven smiled back.

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

A police officer knocked on the door of the office for Detective Kane.

"Come in", he said tiredly.

"Good morning sir. The medical reports from the plane crash have just been faxed over".

"Well it's about time", detective Kane stood up and stretched his arms out. He had been staying over in his office and working all hours none stop. The other officers were wondering if he actually ever slept. He took the papers from the officer.

"So these are all the people who were brought into St. Luke's international Hospital the day of the 206 flight crash?"

"Yes sir. The last page are the names and all the information of the victims who survived and had checked out of the hospital".

"Good. I'll go over them in this morning's meeting". The detective glanced over at the officer standing before him. He seemed like he had something on his mind. "What's wrong, Nobou?"

"It's nothing sir… it's just… I was thinking…"

"About?"

"What if the man we are after is actually one of the guys who was killed?"

"Why are you asking me this now?"

"I don't know… I just feel like we are on a wild goose chase that's all".

The detective didn't respond. He knew the investigation felt like it was just going around in circles and he could feel the officers losing faith. He flicked through the pages quickly until he came across something rather odd.

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

"Call the squad to the meeting room. I think we might finally have something to work off"

* * *

Sasuke sat at the kitchen counted drinking his coffee. Naruto was preparing pancakes as the raven just watched him in complete awe. He was glad Naruto was settling in so quickly. He had no trouble finding his way around the kitchen.

"I used to cook pancakes for my brothers and sisters back in Toronto. They were always excited when they could smell eggs, flour and melted butter".

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Well they are my adopted siblings really", he smiled to himself, and he loved them as if they were his own. "Do you have any ginger by the way?"

"Ginger? Yeah should be, just have a look in one of those cabinets" Sasuke pointed towards where he kept most of the ingredients he didn't use. He wasn't really all that into cooking. Not because he didn't like it. Just because he wasn't very good at it.

Naruto raked around until he found it. "Oh! Great", Naruto said excitedly.

He served up the pancakes. Sasuke was eager to taste them since they looked and smelled delicious.

"So?" Sasuke continued.

Naruto looked at Sasuke confused as he took a seat next to him.

"How many siblings?" Sasuke asked, laughing at Naruto's clumsy train of thought.

"Oh right!", he laughed as he took a bite of his pancake, "Well let's see… there's Nagato, he's 16, Yahiko who is also 16 and there's Konan who is 10 and Mina who is 9".

"Oh wow so you're the oldest then?"

"Yeah…"

Sasuke took a bite of his pancake. He froze after he swallowed it.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it? I can make something else if you like" Naruto said hoping he didn't just poison him.

"No! It's just… it's really delicious. It's like gingerbread. I've never tasted pancakes like this before" he said smiling.

Naruto laughed nervously. "Yeah, neither have I".

Sasuke looked at Naruto confused. "You mean it's your first time making gingerbread pancakes?"

"No, I've made them plenty of times, I just haven't tasted them. Not only gingerbread but pancakes in general".

Sasuke looked down at his pancakes. What did he mean by that?

"I meant what I said when I told you I wanted to tell you everything. But I will warn you, it's all a bit heavy"

Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled, "I can handle it".

Naruto was worried that the things he was going to spill to Sasuke might be a bit too heavy for breakfast.

"We have plenty of time, so you need not rush" Sasuke said finishing his pancakes. "Besides, it snowed quite heavily last night. I'm not sure if I even want to leave the apartment today!"

Naruto felt so safe for the first time in forever. He knew he could tell Sasuke anything, and he trusted him with his life. _This man… he's special. Even though I don't know much about him yet, I can feel a bond with him. Something tells me I was meant to be on that plane that day._

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

Detective Kane was sitting around a meeting room with the 5 officers working on the 206 flight crash case. They had just received the medical reports from the Hospital that morning and were going through each page.

"The most serious case was the pilot who had died in a coma just one week after he was admitted. The media had outlined that this man was a key witness"

"How come this pilot was a key witness?"

"He came into contact with our main suspect during the flight. He was in and out of his seat and tried to access the cockpit several times shouting and being hysterical. The flight crew were starting to get worried that he was either trying to hijack the plane or just plain crazy"

"He managed to enter the front of the plane?"

"Yes. We had interviewed an airhostess who survived the crash and she was able to tell us that the pilot briefly stepped out to calm the man down. She doesn't remember much but she says moments after he didn't return to his seat and the plane began to lose control"

"Strange…"

One of the police officers stood up from his seat and walked over to the investigation board. "Sir… I understand that this information is relevant but… it's not really hard evidence is it? Without the pilot, we have no way to confirm this"

"Well that's where you are wrong", the detective said smiling. He held up one of the medical reports in the air as he stood up. "This page has listed all of the survivors who are now alive and well and checked out of St. Luke's International Hospital. Let me read you the last name on the sheet".

The officers never took their eyes off Detective Kane and had all unconsciously leaned forward in interest of what could possibly be so interesting.

"Sir, Thomas Ukita. Pilot of 10 years, was admitted into St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo on the 31st of October at 8:45pm. Injuries included server damage to the brain, 2 broken legs, and broken ribs and so on. Fell into a coma after almost suffering a cardiac arrest on the same night".

The officers looked at the detective confused. "But sir, we already knew this information, how exactly does this help us?"

He continued to read the report, "Well… according to the medical records we received directly from the other detective who was in charge of this case before me, it had told us that Mr Ukita had died a week later after failing to wake up from his coma. His heart stopped and that was it. It was reported on the news and everything including his wife and daughter confirming it".

He walked over to the table and threw down the paper in front of the officers. "The medical report that _we_ received, indicated that Mr Ukita, the pilot who died, had in fact been discharged a day before he apparently died. And reading the notes on the bottom, had made a full recovery and requested early discharge".

The officers all gasped in unison. "So the pilot is alive?!"

"He sure is. All we need to do is find him, but first, officer Nobuo.."

"Yes sir?"

"Set up an interview with Detective Takeshi. I have a few questions for him"

He nodded and left the room. The detective dismissed his officers. In the meantime he had to wait for Detective Takeshi to agree to an interview so that he can get to the bottom of why he changed the medical records.

 _In the meantime I need to set up that interview with Naruto Uzumaki. He might be the key into finding this man who boarded flight 206 and caused so much disruption. And those medical records… why would Detective Takeshi change evidence and kill off a prime witness. Come to think of it when it was announced that he was dead, the detective didn't consider any other witnesses or theories he just instantly wrote it off as an accident and then all media stopped reporting about it. It just doesn't make sense. I don't believe it was an accident but what could've been his motive for crashing a plane full of innocent people… was it just terrorism? Was he really just crazy and acted randomly? What's the motive?_

The detective decided it was time to call Naruto. He was getting impatient waiting for him to make the first move. Even though it had only been one day since he was discharged from the hospital, he assumed he would've just wanted to get the interview out of the way so that he could get on with his life. Well it couldn't hurt to try, he thought.

* * *

Sasuke had volunteered to clean up after Naruto's breakfast activities. The man sure knew how to cook but he did make quite a mess doing so.

"How can you make such a mess from only a few pancakes" Sasuke laughed as he put away the plates he had just cleaned.

"Cooking is a craft Sasuke, you just got to go with the flow"

"What does that even mean?"

"Ahh and you call yourself a Lawyer!" He laughed leaning back on the stool looking quite proud of one 's self. He couldn't stop thinking about how much he was missing out with his own cooking. He didn't like to blow his own horn but it tasted amazing.

 _There he goes again with the Lawyer thing. Why does he keep calling me that?_

"Alright I think we need to have a talk"

"Uh oh. You're not pregnant are you?" Naruto teased dramatically

"What? You're such an idiot" he laughed

"Ah that's not very nice now is it teme!"

Sasuke went over to the fireplace and lit it. It was quite cold out and the snow was still coming down heavy. He sat down on the sofa and signalled Naruto to follow.

Naruto smiled as he walked over and sat beside him.

"How about I make us some coffee?"

"Actually… I don't drink coffee"

"Oh? How about tea then?"

"Yeah. Tea sounds good"

Sasuke brought over their hot drinks as they sat in silence for at least 10 minutes just watching the fire.

"How about I start?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke confused. _Start what?_

"First of all. I am _not_ a lawyer" he smiled as he took a sip of his coffee.

* * *

Toronto Pearson International Airport - Canada

"Can I help you miss?" The woman at the ticket desk asked as she eyed a rather young girl standing before her.

"How much for a ticket to Tokyo?"

"A ticket to Tokyo? Aren't you a little young to be flying alone miss?" she said as she smiled at the young girl.

The girl did not return the smile. In fact she looked quite scary. "I'm almost 11 years old" she said with a plain expression.

The woman behind the desk was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way she was looking at her. The young girl had amber coloured eyes and short blue hair.

"Well miss, tickets start from $350 depending on what class you're flying"

"$350?"

"Yes miss"

"Thank you anyway" the young girl said as she walked away with a sad look on her face. Tears started streaming down her face. She didn't know what to do. She needed to get to Tokyo but there was no way she could get her hands on that sort of cash.

"Konan?"

The young girl turned at the familiar voice. "Nagato…"

Nagato knelt down in front of his younger sister. "What have I told you about wandering off on your own? You know how dangerous it is"

"I know but… I just wanted to get to Naruto"

"Konan… we've talked about this"

"Why did he have to leave us! He never even said goodbye. All we got was a shitty little newspaper article"

"You understand what we talked about right? Naruto didn't have it as good as we did. If there is one way we can repay him its not to bring all of this to his door and let him have a chance to live his life too. Don't you think he's been through enough?"

"But… what about you, brother? Daddy said-"

"I'll be alright", Nagato smiled at his little sister, "I'm 16 now remember? You just have to trust me and Yahiko"

* * *

Naruto looked at Sasuke with amusement. "So you don't… lawyer people?"

"No Naruto I don't… _Lawyer_ people for the millionth time" he said as he patted him on the head. _He's so adorable._

"Aaah its investment banking isn't it!" He said as he looked as though he just solved the world's hardest puzzle.

"Investment… banking?" _Where is he getting these suggestions from?_ Sasuke just laughed and shook his head in amusement.

Naruto cocked his head to the side and pouted. Sasuke thought it was so adorable when he did that. "Well if it's not any of those then it's got to be construction!"

Sasuke couldn't help but burst out in laughter. He couldn't tell if the blonde was joking or actually making serious suggestions.

"Do I look like I work in construction?"

"Well in my defence I didn't have a lot to go off since you slept the entire flight!"

 _Slept through the entire flight? What on earth is he talking about?_

"Who sleeps the entire 12 hours anyways" Naruto said pouting.

"What are you talking about?"

"The plane ride, y'know where I met you?"

 _Where he… met me?_

"Oh that's right you were asleep the entire time…"

"Are you telling me you met me on the plane?"

"Well… technically no. I was sitting next you though", Naruto smiled.

"No kidding. Why on earth didn't you mention this before?"

Naruto didn't know why he hadn't mentioned noticing Sasuke on the plane. To be honest the only thoughts he was having was how handsome and important he looked and how he spent a lot of time guessing to himself what kind of man he would be just by looking at him. Saying that shit out loud sounds kind of… stalkerish. He didn't answer and just shrugged.

"You're full of surprises you know that Nah-ru-toh", Sasuke said in a mocking tone, leaning dangerously close to his face.

Naruto leaned forward in response so that their noses were touching. "You have no idea".

They both stared at each other for a few seconds which felt like minutes. Naruto could feel his heart beating faster and he couldn't bring himself to look away from the raven's sparkling onyx eyes. Sasuke could feel heat rising up to his head and onto his cheeks. He always felt like this whenever he got so close. Naruto smiled with Sasuke returning it.

Sasuke brought one hand to the blonde's cheek, gently caressing it not taking his eyes off the blonde. He slid it around to the back of his neck and mirrored with the other hand. He leaned forward slowly and using his hands which were gently on the back of the blonde's neck, he tightened his grip and pulled Naruto's head towards his. Their lips crashed together, and the blonde responded to the kiss without hesitation. Naruto brought his hands up behind the raven's neck, mimicking his actions. He smiled through the soft touch of Sasuke's lips. It was exhilarating. Naruto had never felt like this before with a kiss. Sasuke bit down on Naruto's bottom lip passionately. This was his first kiss. Not with Naruto but with anyone. But he certainly knew what to do as Naruto moaned in appreciation at the gesture.

Sasuke intensified the moment as he ran one of his hands slowly up Naruto's thigh, causing the blonde to jump back in panic. The blonde broke the kiss and both were panting as Sasuke searched his eyes for answers.

"I'm sorry… did I go too far?"

Naruto shook his head and bowed his head down in embarrassment. He hated how hesitant he was with sexual contact. He felt safe with a kiss but… anything else was a challenge to him. There was too much pain in his memory to be able to just let himself go like that.

Sasuke pulled back giving the blonde some space. He was happy that he returned the kiss but felt stupid for trying to push it further.

"I'm sorry Sasuke… this is why… I wanted to…" Naruto wasn't sure how to explain it without having to tell his entire story. He really wanted to kiss Sasuke and to get to know him. He liked him he really did. But he wanted to put all of his demons and cards on the table in front of the raven before he even considered getting that emotionally involved with him. It was only fair.

"You don't have to explain Naruto, it's alright" he said smiling.

Naruto smiled back. "You're not a porn star are you?" He said in a teasing tone.

He laughed nervously, "I guess I'll put you out of your misery. I own a publishing company".

Naruto's eyes widened. A publishing company? He would never have guessed just by looking at the man that he was in the publishing business. Then again, he should have known better than to _judge a book by his cover_.

"That's… amazing!" Naruto said jumping up to sit on his knees.

"I guess so".

"So have you published anyone famous?!"

"I'll be here all day if I sat and went through the amount of famous people I've published", not that he was bragging or anything. Totally not bragging. "Just search up Uchiha Publications and I'm sure they'll be tones of ones you'll recognise".

"No way! _YOU_ OWN UCHIHA PUBLICATIONS?!"

"Uh yeah? The clue is in the name right?".

"Yeah but I thought the Uchiha's were like an elite and tight shipped family. I assumed it was run by a major corporation or something"

It came no surprise to Sasuke that the blonde would've thought that. When you hear the name Uchiha you just instantly think of the rest of his family and of course their elite status. Sasuke was never named in the media when he abandoned his family to be independent and to avoid _embarrassment_ as his father called it, it was never said that Sasuke was the one who left the elite circle. They called it a feud with a distant relative.

"When you told me you were called Uchiha I never even thought that you were a part of _that_ elite family-"

"I'm not" Sasuke snapped out. "I just happened to share the same name, that's all"

Naruto could sense the change of tone in Sasuke's voice. Apparently family is also a sore subject for this man too, and he knew better than anyone to pry.

"Well anyways, it's cool that you own such a company like that. I've always loved how diverse you are when it comes to publications"

"Well, that means a lot, coming from you. Thank you" Sasuke smiled, feeling relived that Naruto had decided to drop the subject of the Uchihas.

"Is that why you were in Toronto that day?"

"What's that?"

"Y'know, on the 31st of October. The Halloween book festival"

"You know about that?"

"Yeah I was actually supposed to go to it, but i… I had other business to attend to that day and lost my seat"

"Wait a minute, you had seat on the panel?"

"Yeah…" _oops. I totally let that slip._

"But, only selected publications and authors were invited to that panel"

"…That's correct". Naruto looked away from Sasuke smiling.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" Sasuke said shifting close to Naruto so they were touching.

"It'll cost you", Naruto said teasing.

"Oh really?" Sasuke lay back as if he were thinking hard of what the cost could be. "I guess I'm just going to have to pay the price then aren't I"

"Depends how badly you want to know"

"Alright. So, what'll it cost me dobe?"

To be continued.


	9. A Detective's Mission

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm. Also suggestions of rape, abuse and pimping? I know I know all quite depressing.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **SEXUAL THEMES**

* * *

" _Oh really?" Sasuke lay back as if he were thinking hard of what the cost could be. "I guess I'm just going to have to pay the price then aren't I"_

" _Depends how badly you want to know"_

" _Alright. So, what'll it cost me dobe?"_

* * *

A Detective's Mission

2 months ago

Toronto October 31st 

The streets were filled with trick or treaters. Children of all ages were dressed in their spooky costumes and knocking on as many doors as they could to fill their bags full of candy. The neighbourhood was always lively with things going on especially on holidays. Normal families with lots of kids and everyone got along nicely. But over the years parents had started to warn their kids to stay away from a certain residence ever since they saw a young blonde boy leave with his face all bloodied and bust up. One of the neighbours had reported it to the police and ever since then, the blonde boy was cautious about leaving the house.

"Alright sweetie, now you can go for a couple of hours with your big brother but don't stay out too late okay?" The mother said as she started taking pictures of her 7 year old daughter, dressed in a witches outfit.

"Alright mommy! Can we go with Mina and her brothers?"

"NO. I don't want you going anywhere near that house or that family, understood?"

"But mom-"

"No buts!" She signalled the brother, "I mean it when I say to stay away from that house. They're nothing but trouble"

Naruto was looking out of the window in his bedroom watching the neighbourhood fill up quickly with trick or treaters. He had bought candy on the off chance someone might end up knocking on their door, but he wasn't counting on it.

"Big brother?"

"Oh, Mina what are you doing in here you know you aren't allowed in this room" he said smiling at her all dressed up. "Are you going to get some candy?"

"Big brother Nagato and Yahiko are taking me!"

Nagato entered the room.

"Is this true Nagato?"

"Um, yeah I can't see the harm in it."

"You know what father said. If he finds out-"

"You expect me to just let them miss out on the fun just because father said so? Besides he'll barely notice with that we are gone with that party he's got going on downstairs".

Naruto just looked away.

"Hey Mina, why don't you go wait for me downstairs, okay? Nagato smiled. Mina nodded and left the room.

"You've been in a weird mood all day, has something happened? Nagato asked concerned.

"Promise me that if anything happens to me you and Yahiko will look after Mina and Konan." The blonde said bluntly. "Promise me you'll get out of here as soon as you can too."

"Naruto you're scaring me…"

"Don't worry about it", he smiled. It didn't matter what life threw at him, Nagato was always so stunned at the blonde's positive energy despite the situation. "Ignore me; it's just been one of those days"

"Did you go to this book panel thing?" He said picking up the leaflet off his bed. "You never did tell me why you shut down your newspaper. You could've totally ran that thing just as well without Kiba"

"Father wouldn't allow, it wasn't earning enough money"

"Is that really the reason?"

"What else would it be?" the blonde said as he snatched the book leaflet out of Nagato's hand and throwing it in the trash.

"Well you're 18 now, he can't exactly tell you what you can and can't do-"

"YOU JUST DON'T GET IT DO YOU!" Naruto shouted getting in Nagato's face. He sighed as he slouched on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry…"

Nagato sat comfortably next to him. "Is he beating you again?"

Naruto just looked at him not knowing how to answer. Kabuto gave him at least one backhander a day but he stopped feeling the pain a while ago as he just felt numb whenever he raised his hands. He never understood why his guardian was like that in the first place when Naruto did everything he asked for without question. He would understand if he rebelled but he didn't.

"I was actually on my way out to the book festival when I ran into one of fathers friends. They said they needed to speak with me but I told him I was busy. He pushed me up against the wall. Told me he was excited to try me out before they put me to work tonight"

"Try you out?! Put you to work?! You mean…"

Naruto nodded. He felt sick at the thought of his father pimping him out to his _clients._ He knew what kind of businesses he was involved in with his club owner friends. He would often walk in on a half-naked women leaning in the fridge in his kitchen. It was the last time that happened though as Naruto bravely confronted his father about bringing his business home to where his younger siblings lived. Kabuto strangely apologised saying it wouldn't happen again. He later realised he would have to pay for that compromise. And now apparently he was part of the deal.

"The people downstairs, they are clients"

"Clients?"

"You're 16 now Nagato, I'm sure you're smart enough to realise what is actually going on around here. It's hard to miss and I'd be surprised if Konan wasn't aware. They own these streets Nagato; they just don't care about appearances anymore. It's like a really bad American Gangster film."

"Naruto you're not making any sense"

"Do you know what father gave me for my 18th birthday?"

Nagato shook his head.

* * *

Present day, Tokyo

Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. He felt sick knowing the blonde had to go through that. No wonder he ran away.

"It's like I said, I could handle the regular beatings, the sexual favours. It was never anyone but Kabuto but, my life was going to get a whole lot worse if I stayed there"

"Did they not notice you leaving?"

"They were too busy drinking whiskey and chasing off kids that were daring each other to climb into the garden" he laughed.

Naruto shifted in his seat. "My 18th birthday was when I lost my virginity" he said with a cold expression on his face. "And every day after that, he gave me the same _present_ "

"Did you not tell anyone?"

"Like who Sasuke? Do you know the kind of people my father was involved with? It would've done me more harm"

"But you were adopted right? Weren't there like, any sort of social workers who kept an eye on things"

"It's complicated. Besides, what does it matter now?"

"It matters because you're still hurting. It matters because you didn't fucking deserve any of that!"

Naruto looked at Sasuke with teary eyes. He never had anyone show him this much compassion before that when he spoke to him like this, it just surprised him. Words he wasn't used to hearing, kindness he wasn't used to getting.

"As long as you're here with me, no one will ever fucking hurt you like that again, I promise" Sasuke said pulling Naruto closer to him.

"Sasuke…"

Naruto felt so much warmth in his heart. This raven truly cared for him and… he cared for him too. He felt his connection with Sasuke grow over the weeks they've been together. Sasuke never left his side, and… Sasuke saved his life.

"Stay with me… Naruto"

Naruto leaned forward and caressed Sasuke's cheek. His lips brushed softly against the ravens as he looked into his eyes with his own, heavy lidded pair. Before Naruto could continue a loud ringing interrupted them.

"Fuck…" Sasuke cursed in annoyance. Naruto sat back laughing at the ravens annoyed expression as he took out his cell phone.

"What" he snapped out. Feeling that he could murder whoever dared interrupt his passionate moment with his blonde.

" _Is this Sasuke Uchiha?"_

"Yes this is he"

" _This is Detective Kane. I'm calling in regards to Naruto Uzumaki who I believe is currently living with you?"_

"What about him?"

" _We spoke briefly at the Hospital yesterday before he was discharge d regarding an interview? Would it be possible for him to come down to the station today for questioning?"_

"Today? We were under the impression you lot were giving him some breathing space before you pulled him into another whirlwind of chaos"

" _I understand that Mr Uchiha but we've had a change in course regarding the investigation as new evidence and such has come to light. Mr Uzumaki's statement would really help us to move forward"_

Naruto could hear clearly what the detective was saying on the other end of the phone. He wondered what this new evidence could be and why it concerned him. How could he possibly influence the investigation?

"Sasuke it's alright. I'll go"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm going to have to go sooner or later"

Sasuke nodded, still not comfortable with the police getting Naruto involved in his investigation. He just wanted to wrap the blonde up and keep him safe forever. "We'll be down as soon as we can" Sasuke hung up the phone before the detective could respond.

"Are you sure you're alright to do this today?"

Naruto nodded.

* * *

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

"Interview started at 13:04 with Detective Takeshi. Present are myself Detective Kane and Officer Nobuo"

"Are you sure you don't want any representation with you Detective Takeshi?" Nobuo politely requested.

"This won't take long. Let's not drag this on longer than it needs to. Just get on with it"

"As you wish sir. For the benefit of the tape I have laid out in front of me medical reports from St Luke's International Hospital here in Japan. The records state every victims names and injuries from the survives of the 206 plane crash which occurred on the 31st of October"

Detective Takeshi eyed up the papers. What was he doing with medical records with today's date on? Didn't they already have the ones he filed from the earlier investigation?

"We had these faxed over this morning as we believe one of the survivors was the man who caused the plane crash. During your investigation earlier last month your prime witness, Sir Thomas Ukita, had died following a cardiac arrest during a coma. He was sooner pronounced dead issued by media statements from both yourself and the family"

"Where are you going with this Kane?"

"Well I was originally working off the original medical reports which you provided during the time you were in charge of the investigation but unfortunately we didn't have the updated records regarding our mystery man. So we took the liberty of requesting some new ones when we came across something odd"

"Didn't we specifically issue the hospital with a request that the only medical records that were to be shared were the ones I approved?" He said getting agitated.

"Yes but unfortunately my investigation team was not made aware of that information. But lucky for us the girl who was working reception just happened to be new so we were able to access them after all"

"Is this what you brought me in here for? To tell me off for requesting the police was to receive no further reports regarding the victims and their families? Because I did this for the protection of the survivors. So they wouldn't be bothered again" he said defensively.

"Oh no, that's not the reason why you're here" detective Kane lay out the older version of the medical reports. "Now the reason why you closed the investigation was because your only witness had died am I right?"

"Yes. That's right"

"Detective Takeshi. Can you explain to me why Sir, Thomas Ukita was listed as deceased on your version, and the new version lists him alive and well and discharged from the Hospital one day before said death?"

Detective Takeshi was beyond pissed. He had put his job on the line for those bastards and they promised that there was no way the police would have any authority to take out new medical reports regarding the victims. That fucking new girl, did she even have the authority to fax those over? Was there no instruction or restriction regarding accessing those files?

"Sir Thomas Ukita is alive which means he is still part of this on-going investigation. Therefore must be found and brought in for questioning considering he was in contact with the suspect"

"I'll be answering no further questions until my lawyer is present"

"I think that'll be wise sir. Interview suspended at 13:15".

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke sat silent all throughout the car journey. The blonde was nervous. He really hated police stations. He never trusted the authorities with the experiences he had with them in the past. He wondered if it was even worth putting himself through all of this to help an investigation that seems to be all dead in the water.

As they parked up, Naruto just sat there staring out the front window.

"Are you ready?"

"Probably not…"

"You know we don't have to do this you know. You're under no obligation to do any interview you do know that?"

"I know… but they're probably just going to keep bothering me unless I get it over with. The last thing I want is to get my life back on track and after a couple of months have them turn up at my door digging it all back up again. It's best if I lay it to rest sooner"

"I understand. Well c'mon then, lets lay it to rest" He said placing his hand gently on top of the blondes.

They entered the police station and Sasuke approached the front desk with Naruto slowly trailing behind.

"We're here to see Detective Kane"

"Name please?"

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. We're here regarding Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Let me just check the database"

The officer could make bread go stale just by looking at it. What a miserable man.

Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder as he came up behind him. "What a lovely man" he whispered making Sasuke laugh.

"Something the matter?" The officer snapped at the raven, obviously not finding anything very funny at all.

Sasuke shook his head and then smiled looking over his shoulder at Naruto. Their noses were slightly touching and both of them were comfortable with the close contact with each other. Naruto felt his anxiety slip away whenever he was close to Sasuke. So he totally took advantage of that, and Sasuke didn't seem to mind.

The officer was taking his sweet ass time clicking through his computer. Sasuke bet that he wasn't actually looking for their names and he was doing it to piss them off. Probably the only fun this guy gets out of his job is to rile up visitors.

"Look we don't have all day would you just go and get Detective Kane? He's expecting us"

With that Detective Kane appeared from the back door.

"Ah Sasuke, Naruto, thank you very much for coming down here, I know you both must be busy"

"Makes a change from some people", Naruto said glaring at the officer at the desk. Sasuke snickered at the blondes comment.

"Right… well if you want to just follow me. Would you like to have any representation?"

"No I think I'll be fine"

"Sasuke, ill need you to wait in the other room. You can watch the interview next door"

* * *

Naruto sat down in front of Detective Kane and officer Nobuo. The detective started the tape and stated the nature of the interview, time and people present.

"Naruto. Thank you for coming in so soon. I know you're recovering still"

"It's no problem"

"So I'll get straight to it. Could you tell me the reason you were flying to Tokyo on the date of the 31st of October"

Naruto froze. The reason he was getting on that plane was because he didn't want his pervy guardian fucking him anymore. Nor did he want to be pimped out to his pervy rich club clients.

Sasuke stood behind the class of the interview room. He hated seeing the blonde in there, vulnerable and having a detective pick at every inch of his life.

"I was just travelling. I'm from Tokyo originally and since I turned 18 I thought it was a good time to return home" Naruto felt bad for lying but he wasn't in the mood to spill his deepest secrets in a police interview room.

"Were you travelling alone?"

"Yes, there was no one else"

"Do you remember talking to anyone in the airport?"

Naruto had to think hard. His memory was a bit fuzzy from that day… and then he remembered something. "I only briefly spoke to a man in the airline queue"

"Could you tell me what you were talking about?"

Naruto stared at the desk. It wasn't much of a conversation. He hadn't been very nice to the man post panic attack.

The detective continued, "It doesn't matter if it don't make sense to you, we will put all the pieces together"

"Well, it wasn't much of a conversation. I suffer from anxiety and was… erm… worried about flying on my own so I was having a mini panic attack.."

"It's alright Naruto, take your time"

"… The man behind me was just asking if I was alright. He startled me as I don't really feel comfortable being touched when I'm having an attack. So I lashed out by accident"

"Did he take it badly?"

"Badly? Oh no! He was cool about it. I apologised and then that was the end of it"

"And that was the only contact you had with this man?"

"Uh yeah I think so"

"And you had never seen this man before in your life?"

"No, that was the first time"

"I see. Did you encounter this man at all during your flight?"

"During the flight? No. Although…"

"Although?"

"I did notice him out of his seat a lot"

"Naruto we believe this man is behind the crash and I'm going to ask you again, do you know this man?"

"I just told you, I hadn't met him before that day! Did he really cause the crash?"

"What can you tell me about a Kabuto Yakushi?"

"Ka..buto..?"Naruto froze. _They know about Kabuto?_

"Yes. He's your guardian right?"

"He…"

"The man you encountered on the plane was using Kabuto's identity"

"…" Naruto couldn't get words out. Why was this man using Kabuto's identity? Was it just coincidence this man was on the same flight that day? Was it coincidence this man made the flight he was on… crash. Naruto stayed frozen.

Sasuke put his hand on the glass. "What the fuck do they think they are doing?!" He snapped out at the officer in the room with him, "Cant he see he's upsetting him?"

Sasuke moved to leave the room but was stopped quickly by the officer. "Sasuke, don't. You can't interrupt an interview"

"But this is not what we agreed on!"

"He can stop the interview at any time just please calm down"

"Fine" he said pulling his arm out of the officer's grasp. He walked back over towards the window, looking at the blonde.

"Naruto, I'm sorry if these are personal questions it's just, we need all the information we can to build a strong case when we bring this man in. Please, anything you can tell us would be of big help"

"I'll tell you nothing, as far as Kabuto is concerned"

"Are you protecting him?"

"I'll never protect a single hair on that man's head"

"So the two of you don't get along?"

"You could say that…"

"Did Kabuto know you were flying out that day?"

The detective looked at Naruto. He looked as though he had a lot to say but was holding back on it. He felt like he had to pry a bit more if he was going to get anything out of the blonde.

"I'd like to leave please"

"Naruto…"

"I SAID ID LIKE TO LEAVE"

Sasuke turned to the officer. "You heard the man"

The detective stopped the interview and Sasuke entered the room pulling Naruto into a hug, "I'm sorry you had to go through that" he glared at the detective. "Isn't it important to gain a witnesses trust before you go prying into his personal life?"

"They were just basic questions"

"Basic questions?!" Sasuke looked at Naruto who was silently latching onto Sasuke, "Let's get you home yeah?" the blonde just nodded. Sasuke turned to the detective before they left the room. "There will be no more interviews, please don't contact him again, he's been through enough". With that he slammed the door behind him.

The detective sighed and slouched back down on his chair. "I… could've handled that better"

"Yeah you could have" officer Nobou agreed as he took a seat beside him.

"I'm just getting desperate that's all… if I quit now, I'll never be taken seriously"

"You have a good heart Detective Kane"

"I don't know about that"

"Naruto is a fragile soul. There was obviously some pain connected to the subject of his family. I'll admit you could have left that part out for now but… you weren't to know"

"How much trouble do you think I'll get in if I bring in Kabuto himself?"

"I mean, you have the authority to regarding the fake passport. You could just pass it as a general enquiry"

"Nobuo, fancy a drip to Toronto?"

* * *

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto as he drove through the afternoon traffic. He knew that this was a bad idea. Naruto was already in a vulnerable place, he could've done without all of that. "Are you okay, Naruto?"

"Huh? Oh… yeah I'm alright" He said smiling at Sasuke. "Thank you. I should've listened to you in the first place"

"True… very true" he said teasingly.

As they entered the apartment, Naruto kicked off his shoes and collapsed straight onto the couch. Everything was so exhausting lately.

Sasuke soon followed. He knelt down in front of the couch and put his hand through the blonde's hair. Naruto relaxed at the touch. "Naruto?"

"Mhm?"

"Have I paid the price yet?"

Naruto sat up straight on the sofa, "The price?"

"The Halloween book festival, you didn't tell me how you were on the panel"

"Oh… that's right… I kind of went off topic didn't I"

"It's alright. I know how much you needed to get off your chest"

"Thanks Sasuke… and to answer your question, I believe you were interrupted by a phone call" he said smiling.

"Sometimes I hate those things" Sasuke said pulling Naruto's head down to where he was sitting.

"Me too" the blonde mumbled onto the ravens lips as their mouths crashed together in unison.

To be continued.


	10. A Snowball to the Face

**WARNING – BOY X BOY – NARUSASU/SASUNARU PAIRNG – !**

 **This fanfic is a SasuNaru. Just a warning, it includes themes of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide and self-harm. Also suggestions of rape, abuse and pimping? I know I know all quite depressing.**

 **DISCLAIMER - I am not an expert in above themes so I'm sorry if I get things wrong. I don't own the characters introduced all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **SEXUAL THEMES AND SELF HARM**

* * *

" _Sometimes I hate those things" Sasuke pulling Naruto's head down to where he was sitting._

" _Me too" the blonde mumbled onto the ravens lips as their mouths crashed together in unison._

 _To be continued._

* * *

Chapter 10 – A Snowball to the Face

It's the night before Christmas Eve and a couple of days had passed since Naruto was brought into the station for questioning. He hadn't had anymore phone calls from Detective Kane and he was hoping it would stay that way. The mentioning of Kabuto during the interview had thrown him off. It was enough that he had almost died trying to escape the man but for his name to follow him to Tokyo was a kick in the ass.

The blonde lay awake unable to fall asleep. It was cold and snowing heavily outside. He got out of bed and walked towards the window. He had a beautiful view. He could see the Izumi Gardens in the distance, trees covered in white snow. Tears fell from his eyes. He had no idea what to do. Naruto always had a plan in mind that day he left for Tokyo. He felt like his life had taken a stand still. He wondered if Kiba had seen the news about the plane crash and the investigation. The blonde had thought about looking him up and seeing if he was doing okay but felt like he wasn't ready to explain why he was here and what he had been through.

The holidays were always a tough time for Naruto. He only ever experienced one good Christmas and that was the first Christmas he spent with his foster family. He was adopted in December and the social workers and foster home had supervised their first family holiday. It was the best night of Naruto's life. He was spoilt rotten. The day the foster place approved of a stable, safe and loving home for Naruto and his foster siblings, they stopped the supervised visits. And that is when Kabuto changed for the worst. He showed his true colours and life from then, wasn't so sweet.

Suddenly Naruto felt as though he couldn't breathe. His chest was heavy and his breaths were fast and short. _Fuck… a panic attack, now?_ He stumbled to the bathroom and splashed his face with ice cold water. Gripping onto the sink as he squeezed his eyes closed and tried to calm down. His whole body was shaking and he felt as though he was going to pass out or throw up... or both. Tears again, started to escape from his blue watery eyes. He felt so weak and pathetic, he hated this. As he opened his eyes, he looked at his reflection in the mirror over the sink. He was so pale and looked as though he hadn't slept for a year. He didn't want to feel this pain anymore.

He opened the mirror which acted as a medicine cabinet. His hand reached for the shaver which was still unopened and sealed in its packet. He threw it across the room.

"Fuck!"

Naruto left the room in a hurry towards the kitchen. He stared at the knife set that was neatly placed in the middle of the island counter. The blonde stood there for 10 minutes with his fingers on the tip of the smallest knife. The room was dark and cold, and silent. He looked at the clock on the wall which he could barely make outthe time. _Two… thirty?_ He felt like the world could crash down on top of him at any moment. Naruto took a deep breath and slowly sat on the kitchen floor with his head between his knees.

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

Christmas Day 2009

"Naruto, why don't you open your gift first?" Kabuto said handing the blonde a rather oddly shaped gift.

Naruto sat in between his brothers Yahiko and Nagato. This was their first Christmas with their new foster father. The house was very nicely decorated and was located in a family friendly neighbourhood. The three of them had settled into their new school and the foster team were happy with their progress.

"T-thank you, father" Naruto smiled taking the gift from his hands. He felt so happy to receive such kindness. Nagato and Yahiko watched as he un-wrapped it. It was a fuzzy orange jumper. Naruto's eye's widened and his smile grew from cheek to cheek.

"WOW!" Naruto said as he threw the wrapping paper in the middle of the floor.

Kabuto smiled, "Do you like it?"

"I love it! I don't have an orange one!"

Kabuto kneeled in front of him. "I know. A little bird told me this was your favourite colour"

"It's the best colour father! It's bright and happy and it's exactly how I feel!"

Nagato laughed. His big brother was always so goofy and weird.

"Oh Nagato, it's your turn!"

 _*end flashback*_

* * *

Present day

Tears were falling hard as Naruto continued to grip onto his knees harder. The pain in his heart was too much to bear.

 _That day… what went wrong? Nagato… Yahiko… did I… cause all of this?_

Sasuke opened his eyes. He looked towards the clock and it had passed 2:30am. This time of the year was hard for Sasuke too. He did miss his family but after everything that had happened; he didn't want anything to do with them. At least he wasn't spending the holiday's alone this year.

He heard a knock on his bedroom door. He turned to face it and saw it was opening slowly. He focused his eyes trying to see what was happening but he could barely see through his pitch black room.

"Sasuke..?"

The raven sat up at the familiar voice. It sounded, low and vulnerable.

"Naruto? Is everything alright?"

The door opened wider and Naruto took a step in. He didn't say anything. The blonde clung to the door handle and his head was looking to the floor.

"Hey… what's wrong?" Sasuke said wondering why the blonde was just standing there.

"Can i… Umm…" Naruto didn't feel like being alone tonight. But he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to request to stay with Sasuke.

"Can't sleep?" Sasuke said smiling.

Naruto shook his head.

"Come here" Sasuke said pulling the covers off for Naruto to join him. He couldn't make out the blondes facial expressions.

Naruto looked up and pulled away from the door. "A-are you sure?"

Sasuke reached his hand out whilst patting the empty space in his bed beside him. "It's warm in here" he said smiling.

Naruto smiled. He walked slowly towards Sasuke's bed. The raven could feel him being hesitant. So he held his hand out again. "It's alright, I don't bite. Not unless you want me to"

Naruto laughed and grabbed his hand as the raven pulled him down.

"You're right. It is warm in here"

Sasuke pulled the covers over Naruto and brought him into a hug.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sasuke said putting his fingers through the blonde locks that rested on his chest.

He shook his head. He didn't want to think anymore tonight and he came so close to harming himself again. The blonde didn't want that so he turned to Sasuke for comfort. And he was glad that he did. Just the touch from this raven made his anxiety and bad thoughts just slip away. He never had this feeling before; it was magical.

Sasuke looked down to see the blonde had fallen to sleep quickly. It made him feel happy that he felt somewhat needed. His family didn't need him; his mother and father were too busy buying every part of the city to even remember he existed. He sighed. Sasuke promised himself he wouldn't let it get him down anymore. He had been successful all on his own. He had his own business, his own place, and now, his own friends. Things were looking up for him and he didn't need anyone else. Except maybe one more person…

* * *

Toronto, Canada: 12:30am

"Mina, Konan. I want you to both stay in your room and don't come out until I say so alright?" Yahiko said whilst closing the door to his little sister's room.

Konan put her foot in the gap of the door, stopping him from closing it fully. "What's going on Yahiko?"

"I'll explain later, just take care of Mina okay?"

"What's happening?"

"Just trust me, I promise everything is alright. Just, stay here and don't open the door until I say so alright?"

"…alright" Yahiko closed the door gently and turned to face Nagato.

"What did they do to you?" Yahiko asked with concern. He looked at his brother who was standing there with bruises and cuts all over his face. His clothes were all messed up and he had a blank expression on his face.

"It's alright…"

"It's not alright look at the state of you!"

"Don't fuss Yahiko it's only a few bruises"

Yahiko sighed. He was just as stubborn as Naruto. It was times like this where he missed his brother. It broke his heart not being able to be there when his plane crashed. He prayed every day that he would hear some news but he never did until a few weeks ago when they re-opened the investigation.

"God damnit just come with me"

Yahiko dragged Nagato into the bathroom and locked the door. The sounds of a crowd, laughter and loud music bounced beneath them.

"Sit down" Yahiko pushed him down on the side of the bathtub, not giving Nagato much of a choice.

"You know, this is looking all so familiar"

Nagato looked away. He didn't want to think about all those times he saw Naruto in this situation. He knew the only reason he put himself through it was to protect the rest of them. And it made Nagato feel so guilty because now he understood exactly why he did it. The way he felt right now, he would never ever want Yahiko or his little sisters to have to go through shit like this.

"Father is furious"

"What's wrong?" Yahiko asked, taking off Nagato's shirt. His whole body was bruised and red.

"I'm nothing like Naruto, and he's punishing me for it"

"It's not your fault"

"I can't believe everything he went through just to keep us safe"

"He must have eventually had enough"

"I don't blame him for running away" Nagato said as he put his hands to his face.

"Nagato…"

"I spoke to him that day. I knew something was off and I didn't do anything"

"On Halloween?"

"Yeah. He told me what father _gave_ him for his 18th birthday and the reason why he skipped out on that book festival he was raging about for weeks"

"Why haven't you mentioned all of this before?" Yahiko said, taking a seat next to him.

"Because I felt guilty. If I stayed home that night, I might've been able to help him"

"Do you think after all this time he was going to let you get involved?"

"But… he endured everything… alone. Just so we didn't have to go through it"

"I know…"

"I just wish… we could've done more and maybe things wouldn't have got so bad for him"

Yahiko wiped off the blood that was drying up on Nagato's torso. Enough was enough. He couldn't watch his family go through this any longer. He too, wished he had done something to stop his father from putting so much pain onto Naruto. But the blonde was so good at hiding things that he wasn't even sure how bad things had got. It was only until he had packed his things and left everyone behind when he realised something was seriously wrong.

"Yahiko… do you think we should find him?"

"Naruto? I don't know… I mean, we don't know what state he will be in since that plane crash happened. We don't know anything really. For all we know it was probably easier for him to leave us behind"

"You really believe that?"

"I don't know, Nagato. I would never blame him, he deserved to get away"

"Yeah…"

"But… I'm not about to let father start up what he had with Naruto, with you"

"Yahiko…"

"Don't worry. Enough is enough. We'll leave. Tomorrow night. Just give me a few hours and ill sort it"

"What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry. Ill sort it" Yahiko smiled helping him into a clean shirt.

* * *

Tokyo, Japan –Sasuke's Apartment

Sasuke was still having trouble sleeping. He couldn't help but worry about the blonde beneath him. He knew he was battling with a lot of inner demons which he didn't fully understand but so far, Naruto had been pretty open with him and he was grateful for that. Considering how little they still knew about each other, he felt so comfortable and safe around him and a constant need to protect him. He looked down at the blonde who was unconsciously cuddling into him as he slept. He was so beautiful when he was sleeping. He fed his fingers through his soft blonde locks and smiled. He felt so much for this man and regardless of the way it happened, he was happy this man was brought into his life. He no longer felt alone.

Naruto opened his eyes and felt Goosebumps all down his body. He felt strangely calm and peaceful. He lay there with his eyes half open feeling content as Sasuke continued to gently stroke his hair. These past few weeks… have been bliss. He never felt anxious whenever he heard noises outside his room… there was no more blowjobs to earn his breakfast… no more did he have his father use him for his own satisfaction every night. He held onto Sasuke tighter not wanting the raven to let go.

"Naruto?"

"Hm"

"Good morning" the raven said still running his fingers through his soft blonde locks.

Naruto shifted his head up so that he was facing Sasuke. He smiled at him and blushed.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you last night, I appreciate it"

"It's not a problem" Sasuke returned the smile, feeling an unfamiliar blush forming on his own cheeks. "How about I show you around today?"

"Show me around?" Naruto sat up. He felt so well rested and no longer had those dark thoughts which were floating around his head last night. The aura this man had was… calming yet so mysterious.

"That place opposite the apartment block, what is it called again?"

"Oh you mean the Izumi Gardens?" Sasuke said smiling at the blonde.

"Mhm! Can we… uh…"

"Sure thing" Sasuke said unable to hide his blush.

* * *

Toronto – Canada

Detective Kane and his assistant Officer Nobuo had just recently arrived in Canada. Detective Kane had lost patience waiting and decided to work the field. They both set up their investigation in their hotel room.

"Alright so first, we have established that Sir Thomas Ukita, the pilot which the suspect was in contact with during that flight, is still alive following a false death announcement. I have the force working on finding this man back in Tokyo. He shouldn't be hard to track down"

"What happened with Detective Takeshi?" Nobuo said concerned.

"As far as I'm aware he won't be charged with anything until we actually find Sir Thomas Ukita. Until we prove, in the flesh and not off hospital records that he's alive and well, we have something to put against the Detective, regardless of the evidence we already have."

"None of this makes any sense" Nobuo was finding it hard to follow. This investigation had so many loop holes which were going to be difficult and dangerous to fill. He was wondering if he was cut out of the job at hand.

"Nobuo…" Detective Kane put his hand on the officer's shoulder, "Don't worry. All the pieces will come together eventually" he smiled.

"I don't understand how you can be so positive all the time" Nobuo smiled back.

"Come on, we have a meeting with the Canadian Task Force"

"The Canadian Task Force? You mean they are willing to cooperate with us?"

"Don't get too excited yet. I haven't told them why we want to meet yet".

* * *

Tokyo – Izumi Gardens

"I can't believe I've never visited here before! It's so… beautiful" Naruto said excitedly.

The Izumi Gardens were usually covered in cherry blossoms during the spring. This time of year you can usually see shades of pink dying the colour of the snow on the branches of the winter trees. The blossoms had almost all fallen off each branch but the heavy snow and the rows and rows of Christmas lights made the garden look still as beautiful. There were several fish ponds surrounding the gardens which had frosted and a large water fountain in the middle. There were also small stores which sold hot drinks and food during the winter and usually ice cream and food stalls during the warmer seasons.

There was a choir singing in the corner near a very large Christmas tree which faced the fountain. Naruto walked over and watched as they sung a beautiful number of Carol of the Bells. He started to feel all warm inside.

Sasuke walked over to where Naruto was watching the choir. He handed him a Hot Chocolate.

"Here, this will keep you warm" Sasuke said as he walked over to the fountain and sat on the edge of it.

Naruto followed him and took a seat beside him. The blonde took in his surroundings. It was busy but not the noisy crowded kind. He watched as the families walked by happily with their children and couples walked hand in hand in love. Sasuke watches as Naruto was mesmerised by everything. It was like the blonde had never seen much of the outside world.

"Hey you know Sasuke… I get a good feeling that this is what it felt like when my parents were alive"

"Oh yeah?"

"Sasuke… I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead"

"Don't talk like that dobe"

"But it's true… I mean, no one else was going to pull me from under that plane. And not many people would stick around the hospital for a month and take me in afterwards"

"Well when you put it like that" he smiling at the blonde. "I read a quote in a newspaper once" Sasuke said as he watched Naruto play with the snow.

"Oh yeah?"

"Kindness is like snow-"

"-It beautifies everything it covers" Naruto continued.

"Y-you know it?"

"Why of course Sasuke…" the blonde said as he got close to the raven so that their noses gently touched. "I wrote it"

Sasuke stared into those beautiful diamond eyes which he couldn't help get lost in. He leaned in slowly, and his as his lips brushed gently off the blondes he was met with a very cold ball of snow directly into his face.

Naruto laughed so hard he fell back onto the snow covered ground. "I-I also wrote another one" he said as he laughed through each word.

Sasuke huffed "Hn."

"A snowball to the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship" The blonde smiled as he started wiping the cold drips of snow off the raven's hair which was dripping at the front of his face.

Sasuke smiled. What was this idiot doing to him? "I've heard that one before"

"Yeah well that one is from my favourite book" Naruto was crouching down in front of Sasuke who was still sat on the edge of the fountain. This was the perfect moment. He never felt so happy and content. Being in this man's company was warm and comforting despite the cold brass weather around them.

"Do I have something on my face dobe?" The raven teased as he observed the blue eyes glistening in front of his own.

"Yes… me" Naruto didn't know what came over him. He had the sudden urge to kiss this beautiful man. He couldn't hold it in any longer. This moment, this day, this feeling; the way Sasuke's porcelain pale face shimmered against the pure white snow and my god… that faint blush which rested on his defined cheekbones as he laughed. His black raven hair shined like a mirror reflecting off the sun. The man right here, walked straight into his life under the most unfortunate circumstances. But that's what makes it even more special. He was the only one who could've saved him.

Sasuke pulled the blonde closer so that he was sitting in his lap. The cold air brushed off their faces feeling good against the heat which radiated off the kiss which they shared. The ice cold lips of the blonde soon warmed up to the Uchihas as they increased speed and friction. Suddenly a loud bell chimed from the clock tower which rested at the far end of the garden, snapping both Naruto and Sasuke apart. They looked at each other with heavy eyelids, panting and smiling. The blonde looked around to see a few passer-by's staring as he remembered they were in public. Naruto couldn't help but blush hard and put his hands to his face feeling incredibly embarrassed as he jumped up off of Sasuke's lap.

They looked at each other and they both started to laugh. This was just bliss. Sasuke never imagined he would feel this sort of connection with anyone ever in his life. A few months ago he was so miserable and hated anything to do with creating bonds with people.

"Naruto… what was that quote again?"

"A snowball to the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship?"

"Yeah… what made you say that?"

"Because… um… you're my… friend?"

 _Fuck did I just say that? What a stupid thing to say. Why would you say that right after kissing him? Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Um Naruto?"

 _Stupid, stupid, why am I so stupid!_ Naruto continued to beat himself up. He thought it was the stupidest thing he could've said to him, I mean, talk about friend zoning on what had seemed like first date.

"DOBE!" Sasuke shouted trying to pull the idiot from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"What is the matter with you?"

"W-when I say friends… I mean, you know like you have been so nice to me and I like you, in a way that is not friends, I mean oh my god no I didn't mean… but I am still your friend… oh man I don't know what I'm saying…"

Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto was stumbling nervously over his words. He thought to himself how he could not look more adorable than he did right now in this moment. But instead of helping him out, he thought he'd get revenge after the snowball and watch him stumble a while. The raven folded his arms as he watched the dobe continue to figure out how to dig him out of the friend zone which he unconsciously dug himself in to. Even though Sasuke knew exactly what he meant.

"What I meant was… um… well… I like you more than a friend and well… Aaaah crap I totally screwed that up didn't I" Naruto said sighing in defeat.

Sasuke laughed. He was so damn cute when he was nervous. "Come here"

"Huh?" Naruto walked slowly towards Sasuke who pulled him by his arm not wanting to wait any longer. He brought him into a tight hug. "I like you more than a friend too, dobe"

"Tsk… teme" Naruto smiled. Also annoyed that the bastard just let him make an ass of himself. He'll certainly get him back for that one. "I didn't mean to friend zone you with a quote" he giggled.

"That's alright. Even the strongest blizzard starts with a snowflake"

Naruto blushed, "I'll have to write that one down"

To be continued.


End file.
